Pacifying the World

The new year began.

A new emperor ascended the throne, establishing the Hongchang era.

Li Wu was appointed Nation Protector General, with full authority to investigate the Dragon Treason Case.

Homes were ransacked, families were exterminated, and blood flowed like rivers.

Nine out of ten households in the East City marketplace were emptied, and less than half of the officials attended the morning court. In the end, a total of 170 million taels of gold and silver were seized.

The Hongchang Emperor decreed that Fengyang Kingdom would be exempt from paying grain taxes for five years.

June of the same year.

Li Wu was promoted to Grand Marshal and led troops on a northern expedition.

He decisively defeated various rebel forces, pacified the six northern prefectures, and then marched south.

Shenjing.

The Zhang residence.

Funeral banners were planted at the entrance, a mourning hall was erected in the courtyard, and white cloth elegies hung on the walls.

A glance revealed a scene of utter desolation and grief.

Zhou Yi entered the mourning hall, offered three incense sticks to Zhang Zhou, and completed the ritual with three kneelings and nine prostrations.

The filial son, Zhang Jin, returned the courtesy with a kowtow, and Zhou Yi quickly helped him up.

"Brother Jin, please accept my condolences and take care of yourself."

Zhang Zhou had retired from the Heavenly Prison last year, with Zhang Jin taking over his position as a jailer. After taking medicine for more than half a year, he ultimately couldn't survive the winter.

Heavenly Prison jailers generally don't live long. Zhang Zhou lived to fifty-four, which was considered a long life. Zhou Yi's father passed away before he was forty.

Science says that it's due to working in dark, damp environments for extended periods and being exposed to various hardened criminals, which represents the darkest side of society, causing immense pressure on both the body and mind, leading to premature aging and a short lifespan.

However, people believe it's retribution. They think that doing too many bad deeds in their daily lives diminishes their virtue and shortens their lifespan. Even many jailers believe this!

Zhou Yi offered a few words of comfort, and a steward invited him to rest in another courtyard.

"You brat, you're so late. Did you go to the Spring Breeze Pavilion again yesterday?" Niu Xiaowei sat with his legs spread wide, with servants attending to his tea.

"Uncle Niu's temper is getting worse. Are you planning to retire?"

Zhou Yi was now thirty-two years old. Forced into middle age, he had applied a layer of secret yellow wax to his face, making him look like he was in his forties, fitting the stereotype of a prematurely aged Heavenly Prison jailer.

"Lord Zheng secured a position as a military commander in the Imperial Guards for my fourth son. Such great kindness means I can't keep hogging this spot."

Niu Xiaowei was referring to his fourth son. The first three loved to study and didn't want to work in the Heavenly Prison.

After all, they were wealthy young masters, and none of them wanted to mingle in such a dirty and smelly place. Niu Xiaowei had been worried about this matter for years. Now, he had exchanged his position as a captain for a military commander in the Imperial Guards.

Since they were all part of the Heavenly Prison system, the relationships that the Niu family had cultivated could still be used, which was a win-win situation.

Five years ago, as Zhou Yi had predicted, the imperial court parachuted Zheng Gaoyuan in as Warden.

As soon as Warden Zheng arrived, he implemented sweeping reforms and punished corruption. When the Brocade Guard arrested people, they didn't even need to change locations; they just found an empty cell and locked them up.

Most of the former Warden's old subordinates were lost, and Niu Xiaowei was the first to join Warden Zheng's ranks, ruthlessly targeting colleagues he used to call brothers.

Of course, no matter how turbulent things became, it wouldn't affect the jailers who delivered food!

"Then congratulations, Uncle Niu."

Zhou Yi looked at Niu Xiaowei's graying hair and the hint of death in his eyes. Once he retired, who knew how many years he could last.

The love of parents for their children leads them to plan far ahead.

The Niu family's foundation was in the Heavenly Prison, built on a century of cultivated connections. Once they abandoned that, how could they guarantee their vast family fortune, relying on those three good-for-nothing young masters who couldn't even pass the imperial examinations?

The Heavenly Prison held many high-ranking officials. Zhou Yi stood aside, listening and watching.

Large families couldn't be overthrown from the outside in a short time; they usually declined from within, collapsing at the first sign of trouble!

Colleagues and friends gathered together, chatting idly, but eventually, the topic would turn to the suppression of the rebellion, which had been a major event in Fengyang Kingdom for the past five years.

The Grand Marshal had pacified the north in two years and marched south for more than three years. The war situation was very intense, and the court gazettes frequently published reports of the Grand Marshal defeating tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of enemies.

The jailer Ye Cheng chuckled and said, "The number of enemies defeated in the court gazettes, when added together, is already three or four million. If the southern rebels had such a large army, wouldn't they have directly besieged Shenjing?"

Zhou Yi reminded him, "Brother Ye, be careful with your words. If the Li family hears that, you can find a cell for yourself."

The Li family's prestige in Fengyang Kingdom now surpassed that of the former Dragon Chancellor. After all, no matter how much power civil officials wielded, they couldn't compare to military officers who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops.

There were already rumors in the market that the reason the south hadn't been pacified in three years was that Li Wu was deliberately fostering the rebels to build his own power!

"You know nothing!"

Niu Xiaowei scolded, "There's more than just rebels in the south. His Majesty said there would be no grain taxes for five years, which caused the northern rebels' morale to collapse. The south is different; not a single share of land rent has been reduced."

Niu Xiaowei was already the highest-ranking person among the mourners at the Zhang family's wake. When others heard this, they gathered around.

"Who would dare to defy the court's orders?"

"Heh heh!"

Niu Xiaowei didn't continue speaking, changing the subject: "Has Yi boy refined his viscera yet? Your Blood Essence is already starting to decline at your age, it'll only get harder from now on."

"It'll take a few more years."

Zhou Yi shook his head. Another five years had passed, and his tendons and bones were honed to perfection, but refining Blood Essence into the viscera was a bottleneck.

Skin, membranes, tendons, and bones belong to hard skills, which can be achieved through accumulation and tempering. Refining the viscera and marrow washing are soft skills, which must not be forced. Many people who forcibly temper their viscera directly rupture their internal organs and bleed.

"You've been clever your whole life, but you're still confused in the end. You've thrown all your money into martial arts and brothels, and you haven't even arranged a marriage. Who will take care of you when you're old?"

Niu Xiaowei seemed to have regained his composure, wanting to laugh out loud, but felt that this occasion was inappropriate.

He had consulted Zhou Yi a lot in recent years. Every time, Niu Xiaowei had the illusion that he was a stupid boor.

"What if one day, I break through to Innate Grandmaster?"

Zhou Yi said seriously, but everyone present only thought he was joking.

Fengyang Kingdom currently has two confirmed Grandmasters, one is Grand Marshal Li Wu, and the other is the rebel leader in the south, known as the Azure Sky King.

Just then.

Someone rushed in and said loudly.

"Someone just saw soldiers reporting victory, saying that the Grand Marshal has annihilated the main force of the rebels and captured the two Heavenly Kings alive!"

Everyone was in an uproar.

The news of the victory, with the court's deliberate promotion, quickly spread throughout Shenjing.

The fifth year of Hongchang.

September 21st.

Today is the day when the Grand Marshal returns to court in triumph, and the east gate of Shenjing is packed with people.

The Imperial Guards stood on both sides of the road, constantly pushing the people back, leaving a road for the army to pass through.

Zhou Yi specially took a leave of absence and occupied a window seat in a restaurant early in the morning.

He failed to see the demeanor of an Innate Grandmaster that dark night so long ago, so today was the perfect opportunity to make up for it.

At noon.

The ground shook, and the sound of hooves came.

Leading the way into the city were four columns of cavalry, their black armor covered with knife and sword marks, exuding a chilling aura.

"Each of them has the strength of the Skin Membrane Realm, no wonder they swept across the north and south with ease. Back then, the dog emperor plundered the world, not only to refine pills and cultivate immortality, but also secretly trained martial arts iron cavalry."

Zhou Yi realized at this moment that the dog emperor seemed like a long time ago.

He couldn't quite remember the appearance of the Dragon Prime Minister, who had held power in the court, or the arrogant Dragon Young Master.

At the end of the cavalry was Grand Marshal Li Wu, still looking like a silver-armored young general. In five years, he had pacified the north and quelled the south, his face as radiant as jade without leaving a trace of wind or frost, just like a young master going out for a tour.

Young and handsome, strong, meritorious, and powerful!

Such a person, just like the protagonist in a story, immediately aroused cheers from the people as soon as he appeared.

Zhou Yi lowered his eyes: "Innate Grandmasters are more powerful than I imagined, and this is just a mortal, what about the legendary Immortals and Demons..."

Behind Li Wu followed two prison wagons, both made of fine steel, with only their heads exposed outside.

One was an old man with snow-white hair, and the other was a disheveled Taoist.

"Could this be the Yellow Sky King and the Azure Sky King? Rumor has it that they are twelve feet tall, with broad backs and tiger waists, and they eat three or five living people for each meal. How can they be so old and weak?"

"What do you know? The Azure Sky King was once the leader of the Jiangnan martial arts alliance, with four sects and eight factions under his command. Many of the experts in the rebel army originated from this." The man who spoke was dressed in black, with a sword at his waist, obviously a martial artist.

"If he became the leader of the martial arts alliance, why would he rebel?"

"Who didn't want to rebel back then?"

"Brother, what is the origin of the Yellow Sky King? I heard that he is the leader?"

"Legend has it that this person was originally a Taoist priest who dreamed of an extraordinary person who taught him immortal magic. He can draw spiritual talismans and scatter beans to form soldiers, claiming to be the reincarnation of the Immortal Yellow Sky Duke..." The man shook his head as he spoke.

This kind of mysterious and unpredictable statement is just to brainwash the rebels, and nine times out of ten it is not credible.

In order to boost morale, the court also promotes that it has defeated two or three million rebels!

The next day.

Zhou Yi came to the Heavenly Prison to work, and from afar he saw the Black Armor Army on duty.

Everyone who went in had to be searched, and then from Zhou Yi's body, they found daggers, sleeve arrows, short crossbows, unknown poisonous powder, black pills...

"These are really for self-defense!"

Zhou Yi explained repeatedly, and finally Warden Zheng had to come forward to let him into the Heavenly Prison.

"Sir, what's going on?"

Warden Zheng said: "The Azure and Yellow Sky Kings, the two rebel leaders, have been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, and the Grand Marshal has sent three thousand Black Armor Army soldiers to guard it."

"Why not send them to the Imperial Prison? It's far more secure!"

Zhou Yi frowned slightly; the Azure and Yellow Kings were no ordinary prisoners.

One was a martial arts alliance leader, the other a Taoist eccentric. If they escaped, they could rally troops and raise the flag in rebellion again.

Warden Zheng said gloomily, "You just focus on delivering the food properly. Why worry about so much? As if you'd be responsible if they really escaped?"

"Thank you for the reminder, sir."

Zhou Yi was too lazy to ponder the court's power struggles, but he was quite interested in the Azure and Yellow Kings.

The Heavenly Prison was also guarded by the Black Armor Army, with a sentry every five steps and a post every ten. There were also experts hidden in the shadows, monitoring everything.

Cell Number One.

Zhou Yi opened the cell door and saw the Azure Sky King up close.

A steel rack, hastily made overnight, and iron locks and chains as thick as a man's thigh bound the Azure Sky King's limbs and neck.

The Black Armor Army outside the door stared intently. Zhou Yi silently scooped up rice and fed it to the Azure Sky King's mouth.

"Boy, your inner energy is pure, like a Taoist inheritance. It's a pity that even if you practice until you die, you'll only be second-rate. I'll pass on a supreme divine art to you. You can reach the Innate Grandmaster level in ten years. Would you like to learn it?"

An old voice came to Zhou Yi's ears. He glanced at the Black Armor Army outside the door, but they didn't react at all.

"This 'Voice Transmission into Secrecy' is my unique skill. Not to mention these little pups, even Li Wu wouldn't be able to hear it."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly, listening quietly to what he would say next.

"Inner energy should swirl, passing through the Zhongfu point, crossing the Yunmen point... exiting from the Qishe point."

Another segment of sound entered his ears, but it wasn't some supreme divine art, but the technique of "Voice Transmission into Secrecy."

Zhou Yi mobilized the inner energy in his dantian and circulated it as the Azure Sky King said, trying to cough a couple of times.

"Cough cough!"

The Black Armor Army at the door didn't react at all, still staring at Zhou Yi feeding the prisoner.

After half a bucket of rice was fed, Zhou Yi left with the bucket, completely ignoring the Azure Sky King, who repeatedly transmitted his voice.

"You little thief, how dare you deceive me!"