Chapter 864: Miao the Prison Clerk

The stubborn and foul-smelling Chen Guanlou returned home, finished his cultivation, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, his door was knocked upon with a loud *bang, bang, bang*.

He got up to open the door and saw it was a prison guard from the Heavenly Prison.

"My lord, something is wrong."

"I am doing just fine!" Chen Guanlou replied irritably.

The guard shrank his neck, but continued bravely: "My lord, something happened in the Yi-character cell block. Many people have died. Prison Clerk Zhang ordered me to report this to you immediately. My lord, please hurry; if you are late, I fear even more will die."

"How did this happen? Everything was fine; why would people die in the Yi-character cell block?"

"They say a fight broke out. I don't know the specifics."

"Who fought whom?"

The guard said nothing, a typical case of knowing nothing.

Chen Guanlou snorted in dissatisfaction, grabbed his coat, and walked outside.

In the pitch-black night, a patrolling squad blocked his path. Just as they were about to ask questions, another group arrived and recognized him immediately.

"Oh, it's Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen. Why are you not resting in the middle of the night?"

"I already slept once. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to head to the Heavenly Prison to take a look. I sleep quite soundly in the Heavenly Prison."

"Haha... Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you really know how to joke."

"I am not joking at all. This is called loving one's profession. I just like sleeping in the Heavenly Prison. Especially falling asleep to the sound of prisoners screaming; it's quite flavorful."

The soldiers listened, their faces showing disgust. They thought this man's hobby was truly perverted, actually enjoying falling asleep to the sound of screams. They were even more disgusting than his own lot. No wonder the world looked down on Heavenly Prison guards.

"Since Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen is in a hurry to get to the Heavenly Prison to rest, I won't disturb you any further."

"Many thanks! Let's drink together another day!"

Chen Guanlou waved his hand, distancing himself from the patrolling soldiers, and continued toward the Heavenly Prison. The guard following behind him didn't quite understand: "My lord, why say those things and let them misunderstand you?"

Chen Guanlou didn't care much, asking rhetorically in a light tone: "Misunderstand? What did they misunderstand? Isn't that the image we Heavenly Prison guards have to outsiders? This is just satisfying their imagination. Don't try to explain; prejudice is prejudice, it won't be changed by your explanations.

Besides, if I told the truth, believe me, they would keep asking what happened in the Heavenly Prison, digging to the bottom of it, and reporting everything up the chain. How would you have us deal with the Ministry of Justice then?

When doing things, it doesn't matter if outsiders misunderstand you; you don't rely on them for your meals. You must first consider what you eat, who you rely on for your meals, and whose interests you must protect. Remember, the opinions of outsiders are nothing but farts!"

The guard looked like he had been taught a lesson.

Chen Guanlou looked at the guard's confused expression and knew he had only understood a fraction of it. Oh well, Heavenly Prison guards were of such caliber; if he spoke too deeply, it wouldn't enter their brains, or even their ears.

When they arrived at the Heavenly Prison, it was brightly lit.

The night-shift guards had all climbed out of bed, ignoring their gambling and sleeping, all curious about what had happened in the Yi-character cell block.

The two sluice gates of the Yi-character cell block were lowered, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. It blocked all prying eyes.

Chen Guanlou signaled for the guard to call for the gate.

A moment later, the gate opened.

"My lord, you've finally arrived!"

"What is the situation?"

"Prison Clerk Zhang is leading men to suppress it."

"Who is fighting whom?" Chen Guanlou only wanted the answer to this question now.

The guard hesitated for a moment before saying: "The prisoners are fighting the prisoners!"

"Bullshit!" Chen Guanlou glared at him. "The prisoners are locked in their cells; why would there be a situation where prisoners are fighting prisoners? Did you not lock the cell doors, or did you neglect your duty and secretly open the cell doors with the keys? No matter which situation it is, you will all be held accountable."

The guard looked listless and dared not speak.

Chen Guanlou led his men straight into the interior of the Yi-character cell block.

Torches burned, occasionally emitting a crackling sound—*snap! *

In the narrow corridor, Prison Clerk Zhang was confronting a group of prisoners with a team of guards: "Drop your weapons and return to your cells honestly; tonight's events will be forgiven. Otherwise..."

"Why forgiven? People have already been beaten to death; one by one, they all deserve to die!" Chen Guanlou interrupted Prison Clerk Zhang, his face covered in frost.

Prison Clerk Zhang turned back and called out, "My lord!"

Chen Guanlou ignored him, reaching out to grab the air; the prisoners opposite him screamed in agony, falling to the ground one after another. Looking closely, either their arms were broken or their legs were broken. Or they were pressed against the wall by an invisible, massive force, unable to move.

Everyone was shocked, and the whole scene fell silent.

It seemed that only at this moment did everyone remember that Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen was a Ninth Rank martial artist.

In a Heavenly Prison guarded by a Ninth Rank martial artist, prisoners actually dared to riot; it was simply seeking death.

"What exactly happened?"

Chen Guanlou shouted. Prison Clerk Zhang wanted to explain, but he didn't want to listen. With a flick of his hand, a bearded prisoner was pulled as if by an invisible rope and dragged before him.

"You tell me, what exactly happened? If you speak well, I will spare your dog life. If you don't speak well, you die!"

"I am a man from the Northern Martial General's mansion..."

*Slap! *

A heavy slap landed on the bearded man's face. His face, already the size of a basin, swelled up instantly.

"Speak properly; don't ramble on. I ask you what, you answer what."

Chen Guanlou would not indulge these prisoners.

"Speak properly!"

The bearded man was stunned, his head dizzy, and his eyes met Chen Guanlou's gaze, his heart jumping wildly. He suddenly realized that the other party wasn't joking; if he didn't answer properly, he really might die.

"Those bitches deserve to die!" The bearded man was full of resentment and anger, shouting loudly, staring back at the group of prisoners hiding in the shadows. "They are all bitches, everyone deserves to be killed."

Chen Guanlou narrowed his eyes slightly and grabbed the air; suddenly, a certain prisoner hiding in the shadows was pulled out.

"You tell me, why did he call you bitches, what is the grudge? Who opened the cell door?"

The prisoner had a horse-like face and looked a bit sinister. He was self-aware, bowing slightly to salute: "Reporting to the Jiang Jiang Yucheng, it is a grudge of many years; we have been unable to stand each other for a long time. Tonight, it just happened; I don't know who didn't take the key off the lock, so our two sides agreed to open the cell doors together and have a fight."

Chen Guanlou laughed upon hearing this: "You mean to say, no prison guard neglected their duty to help open the cell door. Instead, the key automatically ran onto the iron lock, and you took the opportunity to open the cell door to have a fight, which resulted in a death."

"That is exactly what happened! Tonight's events are all our own ignorance, a crime upon a crime. Please punish us severely, Jiang Jiang Yucheng."

Chen Guanlou laughed, raising his hand to pat the horse-faced man's cheek, patting him so hard he couldn't stand and fell directly to the ground. Fortunately, he was supported by someone.

Chen Guanlou turned back to look at Prison Clerk Zhang and swept his eyes over all the prison guards: "Prison Clerk Zhang, what do you say?"

"No need to be polite, just do it." Sun Daoning was anxious to send the person away, with an indifferent attitude.

Chen Guanlou chuckled.

One by one, they are all pretending to be ghosts.

He walked to the door, suddenly turned his head and asked, "Did Prison Clerk Zhang really die?"