Chapter 5: Two Hundred Taels Is Not Enough to Bribe Me

Patrolling the Heavenly Prison was divided into early, middle, and late shifts.

Chen Guanlou followed Lu Datou and worked the day shift for half a month. When it was time to rotate shifts, he was unexpectedly assigned to the night shift.

A group of old oil-slickers—once the floodgates were closed at night and there were no superiors watching, none of them wanted to be on duty. Chen Guanlou took on the heavy responsibility of patrolling the night shift, walking alone in the dark, sunless long corridor of the Bing-character prison.

Passing the No. 13 prison cell, he knocked on the prison cell railing as usual. The prisoner inside squirmed twice like a maggot as always, proving he was still alive. Having worked for so long, he still hadn't seen the true face of the prisoner in No. 13.

He can really lie down!

Walking all the way to the depths.

"Little brother, little brother..."

The fat man in the No. 25 prison cell—a fat man, which was very rare in the Heavenly Prison. The key was that there were no wounds on his body. From the first day he worked, Chen Guanlou noticed the other party—a small leader of a social group that lent usury, who was said to have offended a noble and was locked in the Heavenly Prison for a reason.

"Little brother, here..."

"What's the matter?" Chen Guanlou didn't change his expression, his demeanor serious.

But he was young after all, and in the eyes of these old oil-slickers, he looked a bit like a paper tiger, putting on an act, lacking confidence. He looked like a new guy who was easy to fool.

"Little brother, do me a favor; help me bring a message to the outside—one hundred taels."

Chen Guanlou turned and left, not even wanting to waste a word on the other party.

The fat man was suddenly anxious. "Little brother, please slow down. One hundred and fifty taels... if that doesn't work, two hundred taels. Is it okay or not—little brother, give me a solid word!"

Chen Guanlou didn't pay any attention to him, not even bothering to give the other party a straight look. The other party was clearly playing him for a fool. A deal of two hundred taels—such a good thing, why didn't the fat man find other prison guards to pass the message, but instead found him, this new guy? Don't tell him the fat man was kind-hearted and specifically took care of him, this new guy.

The fat man was not a good person!

And he wasn't a three-year-old child; how could he be bribed by a mere two hundred taels of silver?

Lu Datou repeatedly emphasized strictly preventing collusion inside and outside. It must be because the Heavenly Prison had previously had a major event of collusion inside and outside that caused serious consequences. He was a new guy, without family or background, and had just arrived—where would he have the guts to play the trick of collusion inside and outside? He was afraid he would have the life to earn money but not the life to spend it.

Ignoring the fat man's sugar-coated bullets, he continued to patrol the prison cells, counting the number of people one by one, ensuring that the prisoners were all still alive.

Patrolling to the No. 60 prison cell, he took two extra looks. He had already inquired clearly before that the No. 60 prison cell held the leader of the Old Eagle Sect.

The Old Eagle Sect was a martial arts school in name, but actually a social group with vitality. On the surface, they did legal business, but behind the scenes, they did things like killing and looting. It was taken down by the Six Shanmen some time ago.

The reason Chen Guanlou noticed this person was that after many days of observation and comprehensive consideration, he thought the other party was a person who was easier to deal with. Moreover, the other party had real martial arts skills, a proper First Rank warrior, who had already entered the martial path. When he opened the martial arts school, he also shouldered the responsibility of teaching his disciples. To him, this was an opportunity.

He hadn't forgotten his mission of working in the Heavenly Prison.

Learning martial arts!

The Old Eagle Sect leader's surname was Luo, his full name was Luo Jingtian, and he was a middle-aged reckless man. He obviously also noticed Chen Guanlou and knew this was a new prison guard in the Heavenly Prison.

"Little brother!"

After many days of observation, he still couldn't help but open his mouth.

"What's the matter?" Chen Guanlou didn't change his expression, standing outside the prison cell, his expression cold and ruthless.

"Do me a favor; get some wine and food to eat. I'll pay." Luo Jingtian licked his tongue, his body covered in scars, obviously having been tortured.

Chen Guanlou snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Although he wanted to contact the other party, he couldn't easily let the other party get his way.

"Little brother, wait. Whatever conditions you want, just open your mouth."

Chen Guanlou turned around and looked at the other party. "Why me?"

He was a new guy without power or influence; he wasn't worth the investment of these old oil-slickers.

Luo Jingtian smiled bitterly. "Others are too damn black. A pot of wine, they dare to ask for ten taels of silver, and a roasted chicken, they actually ask for twenty taels. I have money, but I'm not willing to be slaughtered like cattle and sheep by that bunch of black-hearted old oil-slickers. As long as little brother's price is cheaper, I have no objections."

Chen Guanlou narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the other party, thinking about how much of the other party's words were true and how much were false.

Then, he said one sentence: "No money!"

"Little brother, you should have said so earlier! I have a familiar shop; little brother only needs to go to the door and report my name, and you can get free wine and food, and there's running money to take. How about that?"

"I don't want money." Chen Guanlou stood in front of the prison gate, arms crossed.

Luo Jingtian was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Little brother doesn't want money—what do you want?"

"I want to learn martial arts!" Chen Guanlou stated his request generously.

This time it was Luo Jingtian's turn to hesitate. "I observe little brother's physique; it seems you don't have a martial pulse."

"Working in the Heavenly Prison, without some self-defense skills, it's always not very reassuring." Chen Guanlou explained it this way.

Luo Jingtian nodded knowingly.

A prison guard in the Heavenly Prison must have some housekeeping skills. Even if he only knew three or five fake moves, he could muddle through.

He frowned and thought for a while. "I do have an external training skill here, called the Heavenly Thunder Art. It is most suitable for ordinary people without martial pulses. It's just that this skill has a huge flaw."

"What flaw?"

"The Heavenly Thunder Art, as the name suggests, is extremely rigid and extremely yang. Learning this skill requires burning blood and qi, which damages lifespan. Practicing to the first layer damages one month of lifespan; practicing to the fifth layer damages one year of lifespan. If practiced to the ninth layer, it damages at least five years of lifespan. Therefore, few people choose to practice this skill. But, this skill is indeed suitable for people without martial pulses to practice."

Hearing this, Chen Guanlou was overjoyed in his heart.

Damaging lifespan—others were afraid, but he wasn't!

He had the Longevity Dao Fruit; let alone a mere five years, even ten or a hundred years were affordable to damage.

However, he didn't immediately agree to the deal, but instead asked with great disdain: "Is there no other cultivation method?"

"To tell you the truth, little brother, other skills need to be combined with internal cultivation methods to be effective. But little brother doesn't have a martial pulse and can't practice internal cultivation methods, this..."

Luo Jingtian made his attitude clear—it wasn't that he didn't cooperate and wouldn't take out superior martial arts secret books. It was that Chen Guanlou was born without a martial pulse and couldn't practice superior martial arts secret books.

Chen Guanlou hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, and put on a difficult appearance of making a decision. "You teach me the Heavenly Thunder Art first; another day, I will naturally send you wine and food."

"Little brother, have you thought it through? It damages lifespan..."

"Less nonsense."

Luo Jingtian immediately taught Chen Guanlou the full text of the Heavenly Thunder Art and explained the tricks and some insights of practicing martial arts in detail.

After patrolling the prison, Chen Guanlou returned to the duty room—*hey*, it was hot inside. Gambling, drinking, sleeping—everything was there.

Lu Datou gambled until his eyes were red. In the late spring season, and in the dark, humid Heavenly Prison environment, he lost until his forehead was sweating, stripped off his clothes, and only had a pair of underpants left on his body.

Chen Guanlou leaned beside the other party and, at several critical moments, spoke up without changing his expression, helping Lu Datou win back his capital. After that, he didn't do anything else and simply lay on the bed and slept soundly. ===== CHAPTER 6 =====