Chapter 51: Fearing Eternal Damnation

"Who let them do this?"

Chen Guanlou only wanted to know who the mastermind behind the scenes was at this moment.

Without the orders of an official, without sufficient benefits, and without sufficient threats, prison guards wouldn't do such things that harm others without benefiting themselves.

Xiao Jin shook his head slightly. "I can't find out; everyone is just doing things according to orders."

"Does Li Dahong know?"

"Li Tou should also be doing things according to orders."

"So it is possible that Prison Clerk Wan doesn't know who gave the order either."

"Perhaps Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan knows."

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan certainly knows who gave the order. To kill a prisoner official in the Heavenly Prison, it must pass through Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan's hands. Ordinary prison guards, who would dare to bear such a huge responsibility and kill someone casually?" Chen Guanlou scolded angrily.

Only through Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan's hands could the prison guards kill someone with such vicious means without any scruples.

He rubbed his temples.

"I remember prisoner twenty-seven came in because of a homicide case in the Yamen, and he should have paid money too. Why kill the chicken to warn the monkey?"

"Chen Tou, you have stumped me; how would I know? When officials do things, they are always sneaky and cloud-covered. Chen Tou, don't worry; since it passed through Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan's hands, the people above shouldn't pursue it. When I came just now, I saw Li Dahong taking money to gamble in the neighboring duty room. He isn't worried, so why should Chen Tou worry blindly?"

Chen Guanlou waved his hand, dismissing Xiao Jin and telling him to be on duty properly.

The next morning after his shift, he met Li Dahong at the main gate.

Chen Guanlou went up to greet him, and seeing the other party's eyes were red, he knew at a glance that he had stayed up all night, so he asked casually: "How was the battle last night? Did you win or lose?"

"Damn it, I lost. That bastard Lu Datou had explosive luck last night. Call him to treat us another day, and you go too."

"We'll see!"

The money Lu Datou won by luck would be lost by luck within ten days at the latest.

He walked out of the main gate side-by-side with Li Dahong. "The person in cell twenty-three is dead."

"Ah, that matter, it has already been handled, and the body has been handed over to the family."

Chen Guanlou hesitated for a moment. "Can we use a gentler method next time?"

He looked at the other party with a smile, just like joking.

Li Dahong was stunned, a bit unable to grasp whether Chen Guanlou was joking or discussing this matter seriously.

He laughed it off. "The little rabbits below handled things a bit crudely; it was your first time encountering it, so you were scared, right?"

"I was indeed scared. Before, in the Bing-character prison, I only saw people die from broken hands and feet from torture; it was my first time seeing someone killed without a knife, but the scene was even more ferocious and terrifying than a bloody one, so I was a bit unaccustomed."

With this explanation, Li Dahong understood. He naturally thought Chen Guanlou was a young man with shallow experience, a bit unable to accept the rules of the Jia-character prison.

Everyone had come through this way back then.

He laughed happily. "Don't worry, you will get used to it after seeing more. You also know that the people locked in the prison are official masters, so we can't use bloody means. It's too bloody, and the official masters can't stand it. We have to use soft knives to kill, without seeing blood, and without causing turmoil.

I will teach you a good trick; sometimes soft knives to kill are more deterrent to all prisoners than bloody scenes. You can achieve your goal silently."

Chen Guanlou chuckled, which was considered acknowledging the other party's statement.

"If you have disobedient prisoners under your hand and you can't bring yourself to do it, just tell me. I will solve it for you."

Li Dahong looked like he was kindly helping to solve problems, looking exceptionally enthusiastic.

Chen Guanlou could only laugh it off. "When there is a need, I will definitely not forget Brother Li."

Li Dahong put his arm around his shoulder and said happily: "That's right. We are brothers eating from the same pot, so we should look after each other, don't you think? What kind of place is this? It's the Heavenly Prison. It's normal for one or two people to die in the Heavenly Prison, right? When you were on duty in the Bing-character prison before, didn't you beat prisoners until their hands and feet were broken every day? If they died, they died for nothing. It makes no sense that Jianghu heroes can die, but official masters can't. Don't you think?"

"Brother Li's words are reasonable. Everyone is born of parents, everyone has one life, and everyone has a day to die. However, official masters at least have one more protective talisman than Jianghu heroes; is Brother Li really not worried about the people above pursuing it?"

Chen Guanlou acted curious.

Li Dahong was very happy to solve his confusion. "You haven't been here long, so there are some things you don't know. Except for prisoners whose bodies are not good to begin with—the kind that even the King of Hell can't stop from dying—under normal circumstances, people dying in prison, and who dies, all have their own reasons. I advise you to get along well with Prison Wan Zhang Yuli; having Prison Wan Zhang Yuli's support only has benefits and no harm."

"I would like to, but Prison Wan Zhang Yuli has to give me the chance. Actually, as long as Prison Wan Zhang Yuli doesn't make things difficult for me, I am already satisfied; I just want to be on duty with peace of mind."

"Brother, opportunities are all fought for by yourself." Li Dahong patted Chen Guanlou's shoulder. "There are some things you will encounter sooner or later; getting along well with the people above will not be wrong."

The two parted at the intersection.

Returning home, Chen Guanlou slept soundly.

At night, he disguised himself as a rough old man, put on coarse cloth clothes, wore a bamboo hat, and climbed over the wall to leave home under the cover of night. He hid in the Fan residence.

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan recently took a beautiful concubine, who was said to be extremely favored.

Late at night, he was not in the beautiful concubine's room but in the study.

A Jiang Jiang Yucheng, not an important official, not enjoying the service of a beautiful concubine late at night but hiding in the study, must have something strange.

Chen Guanlou hid on the roof of the study, restrained his aura, and carefully eavesdropped.

He dared to do so because Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan was a First Rank warrior. He was certain the other party couldn't discover him.

Private Secretary Li was serving by Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan's side.

"Master, don't be too worried."

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan sighed. "I am not worried about anything else, only worried about ending up like Jiang Jiang Yucheng Jiang."

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Jiang was because he didn't act secretly and didn't handle things thoroughly, which led to dissatisfaction from above. Master has already considered every aspect, and the matter was handled very properly, so it will definitely not go wrong."

Private Secretary Li kept persuading him; late at night, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan shouldn't be confused. In the early spring night, isn't it good to go back to the room and hold a woman to sleep? Why seek trouble for yourself? The matter has already been done; it is useless to regret at this time, so he can only go all the way to the dark.

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan was worried; the matter was handled very smoothly. However, after the matter was finished, he began to worry instead, unable to make up his mind in his heart.

"Number twenty-three has no background or backing, and the coroner has already examined the body, so everything is fine. Why does Master need to worry?"

"I am not worried about number twenty-three, but worried about what they are going to do next. At present, His Majesty is addicted to alchemy, favors Jiang Tu, and doesn't handle court affairs much; he is no longer the diligent Emperor of the early years. It just so happens that the Crown Prince has lost favor and is not trusted by His Majesty, and the other Imperial Princes are restless. At this time, if one step is taken wrong, I am afraid it will be eternal damnation!" ===== CHAPTER 52 =====