Chapter 48

In the blink of an eye, it was the New Year.

Time entered the 46th year of Taixing.

In early spring, the weather in the capital was still cold despite the warmth, and people were still wearing thick winter clothes, living their days by watching the sky's mood.

Chen Guanlou finally refined the first volume of the "Sheng Tian Lu" to perfection and began practicing the second volume.

Then, he felt what it meant to advance by leaps and bounds, what it meant to have a qualitative leap. His progress was visible to the naked eye; it could be said to be a thousand miles a day.

The pleasure and sense of achievement brought by the rapid improvement in strength swept away the depression brought by serving in the Heavenly Prison.

If practicing the first volume of the "Sheng Tian Lu" was like climbing a snow mountain on a plateau, with the feeling of death at any moment, then practicing the second volume was like strolling leisurely on a flat road, relaxed and comfortable.

Because the Longevity Dao Fruit overlapped with the concealment of the "Sheng Tian Lu," others only thought he was an ordinary martial artist and could not see that he possessed internal cultivation methods.

Because his strength had increased, he was eager to try, unable to wait to find someone to spar with and evaluate what level his strength was actually at.

Late at night, he disguised himself as a middle-aged Wu Lin roughneck. Looking at the brand-new appearance in the mirror, no one would connect the middle-aged man in the mirror with the young Chen Guanlou.

Masked, he climbed over the wall and went out, targeting the path that Liu Guanshi must take to get home.

He had already inquired clearly that Liu Guanshi went out to drink and returned home in the middle of the night, always taking a shortcut.

Liu Guanshi had first-rank strength, and they only knew each other, not well. Regardless of who won, he didn't worry about being recognized by the other party.

Ambushing in the alleyway, when Liu Guanshi's carriage arrived, he suddenly rushed out, directly knocking out the coachman and the servant, and charged at Liu Guanshi inside the carriage.

Oh no, there were actually two people in the carriage.

Never mind!

Liu Guanshi was suddenly attacked and had no time to think; he blocked the first strike aimed at him. A first-rank martial artist exerted his full strength, fighting the assassin in the dim alleyway. Only a wind-proof lamp fell in the corner, giving this dark night a little light.

The surrounding residents seemed as if they were all dead; no family opened their doors, and not even one person hid behind a door crack to peek.

After ten moves, Chen Guanlou decisively stopped and leaped away.

There was no need to continue fighting.

Because he already had the certainty of victory.

In his eyes, a first-rank martial artist was no longer a concern. He had the opportunity to kill Liu Guanshi at the seventh move, could have cut off the other party's arm at the eighth move, could have stabbed the other party's abdomen at the ninth move, and directly feinted and left at the tenth move.

Having proven himself, there was no need to stay; he left decisively.

As for Liu Guanshi, who was left in disarray in the wind, completely baffled by this assassination and overthinking it, Chen Guanlou naturally wouldn't care.

He was very excited!

Returning home and restoring his appearance, he held the blade in his hand, trembling with excitement, experiencing the supreme enjoyment.

"It's time to change to a weapon."

The blade in his hand was too ordinary, a mass-produced item. If he encountered a true divine weapon, this blade would break in two in one round.

With money in hand, the next day he went to the blacksmith shop and asked the blacksmith to forge a suitable weapon for him. The price was negotiable; the key was that the materials must be good enough.

The blacksmith accepted the deposit and told him to pick up the goods in a month.

After finishing his private matters, Chen Guanlou came to the Heavenly Prison to serve.

This month was the night shift.

The night shift was actually very easy as long as nothing happened; if he was sleepy, he would go to the dormitory behind the duty room to sleep.

The duty room of the A-block prison turned into a gambling den at night. Gamblers from the B-block prison and the C-block prison all came.

He even saw Lu Datou.

After a year, Lu Datou's head seemed to have grown a circle larger, and the fat on his face trembled, but fortunately, his appearance was still honest.

The two greeted each other. Lu Datou was busy gambling and soon threw his heart and soul into the game.

Where there were big gambling games, there were small ones.

Qian Fugui and the others, after finishing their patrol, joined the heated small-stakes gambling game.

Everyone enthusiastically invited Chen Guanlou to join in and gamble a few rounds.

Chen Guanlou waved his hands repeatedly and declined with a smile.

In this life, he was irreconcilable with gambling and drugs.

Moreover, smelling the stench on the old gamblers was truly disgusting. Who knew how many days it had been since they had washed their clothes.

Yu Zhaoan had been thrown into the Heavenly Prison for so long, yet he had neither been interrogated nor asked about by anyone, as if he had been forgotten. Fortunately, the Yu family sent money to the Heavenly Prison from time to time, so Yu Zhaoan's treatment remained the same: he had a bed board, bedding, a clean chamber pot, edible food, and books to read.

He had made requests several times to have brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to write, but Chen Guanlou refused him unceremoniously.

There was only one reason: "The Heavenly Prison strictly forbids brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Unless one is about to be taken to the execution ground, or there are instructions from above."

He handled matters according to the rules on the surface, and no one could blame him.

Besides, Yu Zhaoan was originally locked in the Heavenly Prison because he had enraged the old Emperor. If he were given brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, what if he wrote articles unfavorable to the old Emperor, specifically cursing him? What then? Everyone would have to bear the responsibility!

The danger must be nipped in the bud.

Yu Zhaoan's request was not met, so he pulled a long face all day and didn't give any of the prison guards a pleasant look. He was indeed a foul and stubborn stone in a latrine.

He had originally thought this situation would continue for a long time.

In the third month, someone from the Censorate came.

Looking at the Zhang Yushi walking into the Heavenly Prison, Chen Guanlou was inwardly astonished.

The second person in Liu Guanshi's carriage that night was precisely this Zhang Yushi.

A Zhang Yushi and Liu Guanshi of the Marquis's Prefecture?

How did these two get hooked up?

Why were they riding in the same carriage in the middle of the night?

Could it be that the Marquis's Prefecture was also involved in Yu Zhaoan's case and wanted to protect him?

He only knew that Yu Zhaoan's wife was a relative of the Marquis's Prefecture. However, the Marquis's Prefecture was not a charity; it was impossible for them to come forward to help just because they were relatives.

Besides, Prince Jin was Yu Zhaoan's backer; even if they wanted to exert effort, it wouldn't be the Marquis's Prefecture's turn.

He instructed Xiao Jin, "You take Zhang Yushi Su to see Yu Zhaoan and pay more attention to the situation between them."

Among the four prison guards under his command, Xiao Jin was the most flexible and adaptable; although he was a greasy middle-aged man, his work was reliable.

Xiao Jin nodded and went to carry out the order.

Chen Guanlou had been waiting for news.

He waited until Zhang Yushi Su left before calling Xiao Jin over. "Do you know what they said?"

"I've disappointed Chen Tou. Yu Zhaoan didn't allow this subordinate to get close to the cell, so I couldn't hear the content of their conversation. However, they started arguing as they spoke. This subordinate saw Yu Zhaoan get angry and smash his fist against the wall. Zhang Yushi Su's expression wasn't very good either. It seems the conflict between the two is quite large."

Chen Guanlou had never been in officialdom; all his judgments came from the information bombardment of his previous life, as well as the influence of a large number of film and television works and novels. This allowed him to stand on the shoulders of giants and analyze and judge the political situation from the perspective of a bystander.

Only this time, he wasn't quite sure.

However, he could ask for advice.

In the vast Heavenly Prison, who was familiar with Yu Zhaoan? None other than Lord Jin.