Chapter 64: Reversing the Fate of Others

Clang!

Almost at the same time the guards fell, the second iron gate at the entrance of the Criminal Chamber was kicked open violently, and then a large number of elite soldiers holding firearms surged in.

The two Colonels leading them, one of whom was Yu Xianting, who had been demoted to guard the prison due to his failure in investigating a case, saw the headless corpses lying all over the entrance of the Criminal Chamber under the light of the few unextinguished lanterns at a glance, and immediately shouted in wild alarm while raising his firearm:

"Who goes there!"

His nervous shout echoed in the prison, yet no one responded.

By now, thirty or forty musketeers had surged into the dungeon, blocking the entire exit completely, and Yu Xianting and the other Colonel, acting as leaders, immediately shouted:

"Everyone, form the Fish Scale Formation, follow me forward!"

Although the musketeers who rushed in were not necessarily high in Martial Arts, their combat proficiency was that of elites; hearing this, they instantly formed a Fish Scale Formation in the corridor, three to a group, staggered and well-ordered, holding their firearms high with overlapping firepower.

This formation was created specifically to deal with Martial Arts experts; under normal circumstances, even with ordinary soldiers, only about ten well-trained musketeers were needed to deal with a Martial Master of the Three Realms Bone Forging;

And in such a cramped environment as the underground prison, with thirty or forty firearms surrounding them, let alone the Third or Fourth Realm, even a Martial Artist of the Fifth Realm would likely have to drink hatred on the spot!

With the large number of musketeers behind them providing confidence, Yu Xianting and the other Colonel held torches and walked forward slowly as if facing a formidable enemy.

They were only a dozen steps away from the entrance of the Criminal Chamber, but under such eerie circumstances, every step felt like walking on thin ice.

Until they reached the pile of corpses at the entrance of the Criminal Chamber, they had not discovered the shadow of any intruder, and Yu Xianting, stepping in a pool of blood, gritted his teeth and threw his torch directly into the pitch-black Criminal Chamber.

Under the illumination of the light, the not-so-large Criminal Chamber was lit up, and Yu Xianting and the other Colonel leaned against the iron gate on the left and right, scanning vigilantly, only to find that apart from the three fallen corpses, there were no living people inside.

The two rushed in first in shock and anger, and then saw that the corpses on the ground were Sagele, who had been carved into a human stick with his head separated from his body, and two prison guards who had died equally miserable deaths.

As for the torture rack, the key criminal Xi Beichen, who should have been tied up and tortured, had disappeared, with only broken chains scattered on the ground.

"What on earth is going on here!?"

Never having expected such a situation, Yu Xianting was terrified, and he and the other man picked up the torches from the ground and rushed out of the Criminal Chamber, saying: "Continue searching inside!"

The underground prison was not very large, with a total of less than twenty cells, all of which were stone rooms with iron doors.

Now that it was the end of the year, most of the prisoners held in the dungeon had already been executed, so most of the cells were vacant, and the few prisoners who had not yet been executed were basically tortured beyond recognition and on the verge of death.

And at this moment, they seemed to have no idea what had happened, all shrinking in the corners in terror, as if afraid of being implicated.

Yu Xianting and the others searched all the way to the deepest part of the dungeon, but still did not find the shadows of the intruders or Xi Beichen, as if these two people had vanished into thin air!

"How is this possible?"

"Where are the people? Where did the murderous thieves run off to!"

"Could there be ghosts!?"

At this moment, whether it was Yu Xianting holding the torch or the thirty or forty musketeers behind him, all felt cold in their hearts, with chills rising.

This was a dungeon built ten feet underground, with only one entrance.

All of them had been guarding and patrolling outside, and from beginning to end, they had not seen any outsiders enter or leave, so how did this mysterious person who raided the prison sneak in, and how did they take away a living person right under so many people's noses?

Yu Xianting's face twitched, and after a search, he knocked hard on the door of a cell holding a prisoner:

"You, what did you hear and see just now?"

This prisoner was covered in shackles, skin and bones, hiding weakly in the corner, and said in terror:

"I, I didn't see anything. Just now I only heard a lot of screams, then suddenly several lanterns went out, and then from time to time there were flashes of light... and then, you all rushed in."

Flashes of light?

Doubts filled Yu Xianting's eyes, and he went to ask the few remaining prisoners, but received the same answer.

In such an eerie situation, he was at a loss, and could only turn his head and grit his teeth:

"Go notify the Chief Supervisor immediately!"

Two musketeers took the order and left in a panic to report.

However, for these past few days, Suo Helie had been working and living at the Jingwu Bureau, and such a big commotion in the dungeon had already been reported by someone; the two musketeers had just received the order when a burst of hurried footsteps sounded from the stone stairs at the entrance.

Many turned their heads in confusion, only to see Suo Helie walking down with several people, his face gloomy; he scanned the area immediately and shouted sternly:

"What is going on!?"

Yu Xianting and the other Colonel immediately brought their men forward, knelt on one knee, and said cautiously:

"My Lord, just now while we were guarding strictly outside, we suddenly heard movement from the dungeon, and then we..."

As he spoke, he reported in detail everything that had happened from his perspective.

And after listening.

Suo Helie fell into silence, but the twitching at the corner of his eyes showed his inner unrest.

He tried his best to control his tone and said grimly:

"You are saying that someone bypassed you and entered the dungeon inexplicably, not only killing Sagele and the other guards but also rescuing that key criminal named Xi Beichen, and did so by vanishing into thin air?"

Yu Xianting did not speak, and the other Colonel said dejectedly:

"Lord Suo, although it is hard to believe, the situation is indeed so. The dozens of brothers present can all testify; this is by no means us shirking responsibility."

Yu Xianting gritted his teeth and said:

"Based on all the traces, we determined that the attacker clearly appeared first in the Criminal Chamber where Commandant Sagele was interrogating, and then used some unknown method to kill him and the prison guards. But we searched repeatedly and found absolutely no signs of digging, and we can completely rule out the possibility of the enemy coming in through an underground tunnel."

Behind Suo Helie were Chen Chuanying, the Master of Youxian Temple who had also heard the news and rushed over, a Daoist Yu, and another old Daoist over fifty years old.

Among them, Daoist Yu was clearly very familiar with this situation and said in horror:

"Lord Suo, this intruder is likely Qingyike; only this person could be so elusive!"

There was no need to remind him of this; Suo Helie said nothing, stepped into the interrogation Criminal Chamber, and then inspected it carefully.

Sweeping his gaze over Sagele's miserable and ferocious corpse, he asked with an ashen face:

"Master Chen, can you find any clues here?"

"Lord Suo, please wait a moment."

Chen Chuanying's expression was solemn; he slightly pinched a seal, and then an inexplicable ripple emanated from him.

This seemed to be some kind of perception and investigation method; he walked around the interrogation Criminal Chamber once, and then shook his head:

"Apologies, this Daoist has not discovered any traces."

Having had a high-profile prisoner easily rescued from a heavily guarded dungeon, Suo Helie had never experienced such a bizarre and humiliating event, and he said hideously:

"Then in your view, how exactly did this person manage to do it?"

Chen Chuanying sighed at length, his tone heavy:

"Official Suo, this Daoist also cannot be certain how this person did it; thinking it over, the only possibility is Illusion Technique. This person perhaps mastered some extremely formidable illusion method, causing everyone in the prison to be blinded by hallucinations, thereby turning a blind eye to his entry and exit. Aside from this, this Daoist can think of no other possibility."

Suo Helie asked bitterly: "Then, if you were to encounter an illusion method of this degree, would you, Daoist Master Chen, have a way to break it?"

Chen Chuanying hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"To tell you the truth, to instantly cause dozens of martial soldiers filled with baleful Qi to hallucinate—the realm of such Daoist Arts is simply unimaginable. Even a high-gong master of the Sixth Realm might not be able to do it; this Daoist fears I would also be unable to contend with it."

And at the same time.

Two li away from the Jingwu Division.

In a dark, secluded, and deserted place.

Lu Yuan's pitch-black figure rose from the ground, carrying the severely injured and unconscious Xi Beichen in his hand.

He gently placed Xi Beichen on the ground, then sat cross-legged on the spot, took out several Three Treasure Pills he had prepared from his waist, sent them directly into his mouth, and rapidly refined them.

With his current Dharma Power, using the Earth Travel Technique to infiltrate the dungeon, then using the Golden Light Incantation to slaughter, and finally using the Earth Travel Technique to bring Xi Beichen out, was still somewhat strenuous.

At this moment, not only was all his Dharma Power exhausted, but he had also lost a large amount of his own essence; if he did not replenish it in time, it would damage his foundation.

Fortunately, he had long anticipated that such a situation might occur, so he had prepared Three Treasure Pills in advance; after a short moment of ingestion and consumption, he recovered quite a bit of his vitality.

At this time, the severely injured Xi Beichen was still unconscious. After his Hundred Days Foundation Establishment, Lu Yuan's eyes could already see in the dark; after a brief inspection, his expression turned grave.

It was truly that Xi Beichen's injuries were too severe; although they had been treated, the situation was not optimistic. More importantly, his hand tendons and foot tendons had been severed, which was even more serious than killing him for a young martial artist with exceptional talent!

Xi Beichen had suffered torture in the prison yet showed no sign of yielding; his character had already gained Lu Yuan's approval. He did not consider it much and immediately cast the Rejuvenation Technique upon the other party.

Under the emerald and life-filled Rejuvenation Technique, a hint of color finally appeared on Xi Beichen's paper-white face. Although he had not yet awakened, the wounds that were still seeping blood stopped bleeding rapidly and began to heal.

At the same time, among the 【Medicine】 arts, there was the Duanzhi Xujie Technique; reattaching hand and foot tendons was naturally a simple matter. Lu Yuan swallowed a few more Three Treasure Pills and then cast this technique.

Under the power of the technique, one could see Xi Beichen's severed hand and foot tendons as if being manipulated by an invisible hand, automatically reconnecting, and then the wounds began to heal rapidly.

Successively casting the Rejuvenation and Duanzhi Xujie techniques consumed no less than what he had used while slaughtering in the Jingwu Division dungeon just moments ago. Lu Yuan hurriedly swallowed all the remaining Three Treasure Pills like candy, and only after ingesting and refining them did he feel much better.

He could not help but think to himself:

"The medicinal power of ordinary Three Treasure Pills is still a bit too low, and the quantity of Leopard Fetus Essence Pills I can buy each month is limited. When I have the chance, I must light up 【Stone Boiling】 or 【Pill Making】."

Entering and exiting a den of tigers and wolves like the Jingwu Division as if it were an empty place, killing martial arts experts of the Third and Fourth Realms like slaughtering chickens—relying on his existing means, he could almost walk sideways in this Fengyang Prefecture, completely unafraid of any ambushes or encirclements.

The only thing limiting him was his Dharma Power.

His current few wisps of Dharma Power were far too little; it could only be considered the beginning of Refining Essence into Qi. It was very easy for his Dharma Power to be exhausted, causing him to be unable to unleash his means to his heart's content.

Like today, he could only retreat after rescuing Xi Beichen; but if his Dharma Power were sufficient, overturning the entire Jingwu Division would be nothing!

He sighed in his heart for a moment.

At this moment, after receiving the treatment of the Rejuvenation Technique, Xi Beichen showed signs of being about to wake up. Lu Yuan did not delay, first pinching the back of his head to keep him unconscious;

Then, he himself cast the Invisibility Technique, and just like that, carrying the other party, he sprinted all the way and soon disappeared into the darkness.

Xi Beichen had a very, very long dream.

In the dream, he followed his master to roam the Jianghu, upholding justice, executing corrupt officials, and seeking redress for the common people—it was incredibly satisfying.

However, suddenly one day, he was unfortunately captured by the lackeys of the government and suffered unimaginable torture, even having his hand and foot tendons severed, becoming a complete cripple.

In the dream, he fell into an abyss, surrounded by indescribable despair, pain, and hatred.

He hated himself for his lack of ability, his arrogance, and his carelessness, which caused him to fall into the enemy's net;

At the same time, he hated the unfairness of fate even more—many of his ambitions were unfulfilled, yet he had met his downfall here.

And just as he was dreaming that he could not bear to be a cripple, nor could he bear to let his master and junior sister see his miserable state, he resolutely bit his tongue to commit suicide.

A gentle, lively, and life-filled emerald radiance lit up his gray and desperate spiritual world bit by bit.

He did not know how much time had passed.

His perception gradually recovered; under the blowing of the biting cold wind, Xi Beichen, who was lying on the ground, woke up with a start.

What met his eyes was no longer the prison that brought him pain and despair, but a pitch-black, deserted alley.

"This?"

His eyes were dazed, completely unable to understand what had happened to him. Subconsciously, he lowered his head and saw something stuffed into his collar.

He pulled it out to look; it was a piece of cloth torn from his own clothes, with two lines written on it in blood:

Leave the alley, go fifty paces left to the second residence.

Master and others, return quickly; do not seek me again.

Xi Beichen was stunned for a moment.

What he was stunned by was not just the words on the cloth.

It was even more because he discovered that his right hand, whose tendons had been severed and should have been completely crippled, could actually be used normally at this moment!

What is going on?

Didn't that beast cripple my hands and feet?

In shock, Xi Beichen stood up abruptly, and then he discovered with disbelief that although there were still deep wounds where his foot tendons were, the tendons inside, which should have been severed, had been miraculously reconnected.

Although there was still a lingering, stinging pain, it allowed him to clearly feel the existence of his feet, and he could still move them at will!

"... Am I dreaming?"

Under the pitch-black night, Xi Beichen's lips trembled, and he ruthlessly gave himself two slaps, only to find that the pain was real.

It was not a dream.

A miracle that was hard to understand had indeed happened to him.

"Do not seek me again... Qingyike, it was Qingyike who saved me!?"

The wild joy of having regained what was lost seemed to explode within Xi Beichen, even causing tears to well up in his eyes.

After all, for a martial artist with excellent talent, having one's hands and feet crippled is simply worse than death; in his despair before, he had even thought of suicide.

Yet he had not expected fate to take such a dramatic turn!

"This address should be the hiding place of Master and the others; I must hurry to find them."

Staying outside at this moment was clearly very dangerous, and Xi Beichen could not spare the thought to wonder how Qingyike had rescued him or how the inconceivable healing of his own injuries had come about; he immediately suppressed the agitation of having survived a disaster and walked quickly toward the address written on the cloth.

(End of this chapter)