What was this supposed to be? A loyalty test?
Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow but didn't answer right away.
After a moment of silence, he asked back:
"All of them? Or just the ones on duty earlier?"
There was no way the Zhou army had assigned only a handful of men to guard the Heavenly Prison.
Based on what he had overheard during his feverish days, the prison was guarded by three rotating shifts of soldiers, with a new group replacing the last every four hours.
Each shift consisted of a wu, five men, led by a wuchang, a squad leader.
The one who'd taken the lead in bullying Huo Hengxuan, Li Erhuang, was one such wuchang.
But these jailers were merely the outermost layer of the prison's defenses.
They only handled simple tasks like escorting prisoners to and from interrogation. They had no real authority.
The real defense force of the Heavenly Prison was the fifty thousand Zhou soldiers still stationed within the capital's palace complex, and... the two mysterious "Immortal Masters" the jailers whispered about.
These two individuals had been meditating outside the prison for five days, without food or drink.
They were, without a doubt, cultivators from Great Zhou's sects.
Killing a few jailers wouldn't get anyone out of this place. In fact, it might only alert those two.
A task that would be all pain and no gain.
So what was Huo Hengxuan playing at? Was he trying to make things hard for him... or testing him?
Chen Kuang suspected the former.
But at this moment, he could only treat it as the latter.
The old bastard's exposure had already undermined the trust Chen had painstakingly built with a single steamed bun.
If a loyalty test could restore that trust, even if just in Huo Hengxuan, it might be even more useful than Lady Liang's goodwill.
If it was only about taking out those few jailers, it wasn't entirely impossible...
Chen Kuang carefully assessed the feasibility.
Lady Liang listened in with her heart pounding. How could killing people sound so casual coming from him, like he was talking about slaughtering chickens?
She didn't dare breathe too loudly and stole a glance at Chen Kuang.
He looked gentle, refined, she'd thought he was a good man. But clearly, appearances could be deceiving...
Huo Hengxuan observed Chen's serious, contemplative expression and chuckled.
"You guess."
Chen Kuang: "..."
Damn riddle-monger.
Wasn't all that back-and-forth just to establish that they were both sharp and capable of speaking as equals?
Couldn't the guy just be straightforward?
He really hated dealing with these scheming old bastards.
Face darkening, Chen Kuang turned away and sat in the corner, clearly refusing to continue the conversation.
Huo Hengxuan didn't push. He scratched his back against the cell bars like a scrawny monkey, lacking all dignity.
Lady Liang blinked, a little at a loss.
After a few rounds of exchange, the two men now seemed... to have reached some sort of unspoken understanding?
So was Chen Kuang a Zhou spy or not?
Should she still trust him?
Fortunately, Huo Hengxuan remembered to give the matter a closing statement.
"Lady, you should rest."
"A battle between Sages won't end so quickly."
Lady Liang nodded at once. She looked at Chen Kuang, wanting to say something, but in the end she returned to her corner in silence, holding her sleepy daughter in her arms.
That silence lasted until midnight.
Outside, the strange starry glow still bathed the world.
Tremors occasionally shook the ground. The guards remained alert through the night.
As Huo Hengxuan had said, the battle showed no sign of a clear outcome.
Lady Liang continued to gaze at the barred window. Though she was exhausted, though she could see nothing, she still forced her eyes to remain open.
But before long, her head began to nod like a tumbler doll.
Chen Kuang thought back to the look in her eyes earlier, dazed, lost, after being humiliated by the guards.
He began unraveling the earlier conversation in his mind, trying to understand what had made Huo Hengxuan hesitate at the last moment.
After a while, he suddenly asked, "Lady, if... the Ancestor loses, what will you do?"
Lady Liang murmured, "If he loses, I'll..."
What?
There was no continuation as she had already fallen asleep.
Bang bang bang...
The watchman jailers beat the night drum, marking midnight.
Right on cue, his status screen updated.
[You shared your steamed bun with Lady Liang and indirectly saved the lives of fifty thousand people. You have gained the passive ability: "Fasting Body", He who feeds on breath becomes divine and long-lived; he who eats nothing, lives and transcends. You no longer need food.]
Chen Kuang, already half-asleep, blinked groggily.
"...Fifty thousand?"
Liang Kingdom Royal Capital, East Watchtower.
From here, one could overlook the entire capital. The entrance to the Heavenly Prison was located within the tower.
Naturally, this tower had become the central command post for the fifty thousand Zhou soldiers stationed in the city.
Flying Phoenix General Li Hongling, who had led the Black Armored Cavalry through the palace gates, was listening to a report from her adjutant.
"...So, after five days, the only thing you've got to show... is nothing?"
A distorted, cold voice came from within her full-faced black helm.
"You mean to tell me the Secret Tribunal is useless?"
Flying Phoenix General Li Hongling stood nearly two meters tall. Slender and imposing, she wore full-body black armor, thick, jagged, and polished like dark steel. A massive halberd hung on her back, radiating menace.
Behind her mask, her eyes glowed faintly red, tinged with bloodlust.
Standing under the eaves of the tower, she looked like a wall of iron.
The adjutant, being glared down at, dared not raise his head or wipe the sweat beading on his forehead.
He answered fearfully:
"We've used every method available, but Huo Hengxuan is unbelievably tight-lipped. He even endured the 'comb-washing' punishment and still refused to speak..."
Li Hongling was silent for a moment. Just as her adjutant was about to kneel, she finally spoke:
"Keep interrogating."
"Uh... further torture might..."
Li Hongling narrowed her eyes and looked out at the radiant, star-lit sky.
Below, the city glowed with countless lights. From outside the walls came shouts of battle, cultivators' spiritual lights flashing through the darkness. It was clearly a fierce battle.
"Interrogate him one last time. If he still doesn't talk..."
"That Chu Wenruo has enjoyed enough comfort. Since we've already lured out the fish..."
"Then it's time to interrogate our noble Lady of Liang."
"Yes, General."
The adjutant nodded quickly, then added a new update.
"That musician who was almost dead from fever, he's somehow recovered. He even shared a steamed bun with Chu Wenruo."
Li Hongling scoffed.
"Fools who cling to loyalty invite their own deaths. Let him be."
The adjutant nodded and was about to leave.
But Li Hongling clicked her tongue in irritation at the cultivators struggling on the battlefield outside, then called him back.
"Forget it. Since he's so eager to perish alongside his former masters, let's grant his wish."
The adjutant understood immediately, nodding smoothly.
"Next time, we'll bring him along for the Secret Tribunal."
"You're interrogating a civilian?"
A soft yet cold female voice cut in suddenly.
Li Hongling's gaze sharpened. "Not a civilian. A... Liang subject."
"Immortal Master Shen, I know your heart is kind, but surely you won't intervene in this as well?"
"Your Mysterious Divine Path Sect came here merely to persuade. Don't overstep."
She turned and saw a man and a woman ascending the stairs together.
The man was middle-aged, robed in white, elegant and bookish, waving a blank folding fan.
The woman wore black robes and a green veil. Her face was obscured, but her eyes gleamed beneath the fabric, cold, clear, and piercing.
She replied calmly:
"General Li, you misunderstand. I only wish to observe your interrogation process. I have no intention of interfering."