Chapter 97: Even if one is but an ant, one must resist to the very end

"A grown man with no ambition to speak of—truly sigh-worthy."

Yu Zhaoan felt deeply regretful, his expression as if to say: Chen Guanlou, just now, you missed out on a million—a whole million!

An opportunity was laid out before him; any man worth his salt should have grasped it firmly. Instead of pushing it away—that is something only a fool would do.

Chen Guanlou felt not a ripple within him. "To each their own aspirations."

Yu Zhaoan snorted coldly, extremely dissatisfied. "I intended to bestow a fortune upon you, yet you know not what is good for you."

Chen Guanlou's inner thoughts: Heh!

He knew Yu Zhaoan was up to no good; as expected, he wanted to use him.

"Xu Fugui is sought amidst danger. What do you intend to do with my head?" he asked, full of curiosity. Yu Zhaoan was a selfish, petty man, arrogant and aloof, possessing a strong sense of hierarchy.

He absolutely did not believe the other party would bestow favors upon him for no reason.

Such a person, when lowering himself to treat a subordinate with courtesy, must have a motive.

"Who said I wanted your head?" Yu Zhaoan said with great disdain. "Your head isn't even worth much."

This time, it was Chen Guanlou's turn to show a look of disdain.

At a time like this, still putting on an act—who is he performing for!

He laid it out directly. "My head indeed isn't worth much, but this mouth of mine is quite valuable to you. Lord Yu, you are a high official with a bright future; is it fun to toy with small figures like us? Had I been even a little greedy, I would have fallen for your trap. If any other prison guard were standing here today, in two days, there would be nothing left but a corpse. You certainly wouldn't care about the life or death of small figures like us, but I do. You had best watch your mouth; you are on my turf now, and I have plenty of ways to deal with you."

Yu Zhaoan was left speechless, his expression twisted with rage. He snapped, "You have such audacity! Are you not afraid that once I leave, a single word from me will have you sent three thousand miles away to dig coal?"

"I am afraid! I am so afraid. That is why I have always been polite to you, trying my best to satisfy your needs. But today, you actually wanted my head—to use my head to satisfy your selfish desires—and so we have become mortal enemies. I am never polite to those who want me dead."

Chen Guanlou brandished the water-fire staff in his hand, his momentum not losing out to the other party in the slightest.

Yu Zhaoan was furious; he had actually been threatened by a lowly prison guard. He had actually been seen through by a lowly prison guard.

Absolutely intolerable!

"Do you believe that I could kill you right now?"

"I believe it! I believe every threatening word that comes out of your mouth. But so what? Even a small figure will not let you manipulate them at will. If you want to use me as a chess piece, you have to ask if I agree."

Chen Guanlou would never show weakness, never retreat. As long as he retreated, the other party would only push further. Pressuring small figures was second nature to people like Yu Zhaoan, something they had been accustomed to doing since childhood. With no psychological burden, once they succeeded, they would only be smug and say: To be used by this official is your honor.

Such was their arrogance!

"You would rather die than go against me?" Yu Zhaoan asked through gritted teeth.

Chen Guanlou sneered, mocking the other party for asking such a stupid question. "Does cooperating with you mean I won't die?"

"Of course you won't die," Yu Zhaoan said urgently. "You only need to pass a message to someone according to my requirements, and I guarantee you will be safe. You will soon be able to leave the Heavenly Prison and officially become an official, starting from the Ninth Rank. How about it?"

"Do you believe that if I went to beg the Master of the Hou Fu now, spending a little money, I could also become a Ninth-Rank official? And without bearing any risk."

Chen Guanlou mocked the other party.

He was not someone without connections; his surname was Chen, and even though he was already five generations removed from the Hou Fu, he still had one more backer than others. Others couldn't step through the doors of the Hou Fu even with money, but he could.

"You, you simply know not what is good for you. Do you not want to hear what kind of fortune I am offering you? A mere Hou Fu counts for nothing."

Yu Zhaoan had not given up, still trying to persuade Chen Guanlou.

Chen Guanlou was convinced he harbored malicious intent, but he still gave the other party face, sincerely offering an idea. "Lord Yu, since you are so anxious, why not spend some money, and I will help you call the steward from your mansion. The steward in your mansion certainly has better skills at running errands and passing messages than I do, and he knows more powerful figures too."

"Lord Yu, can you stop looking far afield and scheming against small figures like us? You and I have no grudges; even if you despise me and look down on me, there is no need to kill me. With me in the Heavenly Prison, next time your fellow townsmen or classmates are locked in, for your sake, I will certainly take extra care of them and never let anyone bully them."

"Absurd! Do not curse this official. My fellow townsmen and classmates are doing just fine."

"There is a saying, I wonder if Lord Yu has heard it. The end of an official's career is the Heavenly Prison! The Heavenly Prison is a place every official must visit at least once in their lifetime."

Chen Guanlou chuckled.

Yu Zhaoan was so angry he blew his beard and stared.

Chen Guanlou had won a small victory; he waved his hand and continued his patrol of the cells.

Yu Zhaoan kicked the cell door in anger. "Chen Guanlou, you will regret today's decision."

Chen Guanlou reached out his hand and gave the other party the middle finger. Among the officials in the officialdom, if Sun Daoning, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, made people feel unfathomable, Yu Zhaoan made people feel the ugliness and insidiousness of human nature.

How arrogant were those high and mighty people, viewing ordinary people as ants, stepping on them to death without the slightest psychological burden. In their eyes, ants were just tools for exploitation and taxation while alive, and fertilizer for the earth when dead. The meaning and value of life were things ants were not worthy of possessing.

Damn it!

A strong urge rose within Chen Guanlou; one day, he would kill this wretch Yu Zhaoan.

Stable days were always rare.

He had thought that by rejecting Yu Zhaoan, the other party would settle down. However, a few days later, just as the prison guards were still digesting and trying to convince themselves to accept the sharp decrease in income, one of the prison guards under him died.

A young man who had only recently been added to his team, named Hong Zhuangshi, with the nickname Hong Ergou. Usually quiet, diligent in his work, he seemed like a very well-behaved young man.

"How did he die?" Chen Guanlou discovered that recently, he had developed a profound bond with this sentence. Every so often, he had to ask it once.

The frequency of deaths in the Heavenly Prison was simply too high.

Xiao Jin stepped out and said, "I heard he encountered thieves at night and was stabbed. By the time he was discovered, he was already gone."

Chen Guanlou's face darkened. "The conclusion given by the Yamen?"

Xiao Jin nodded repeatedly. "I went to the Yamen to check; it was indeed a knife wound, and he lost too much blood."

"Who has been on duty with Hong Ergou these past few days?"

"Me!" The short Liu She stepped out. "During this time, I have been the one leading Hong Zhuangshi on duty."

"Was there anything unusual?"

"I am dull-eyed; I didn't notice anything unusual." ===== CHAPTER 98 =====