The Emperor Was Old

Zhou Yi had skipped work until news of his death spread, yet when he returned to duty, no one gave him trouble.

After he casually displayed his two-finger blade-breaking technique, the prison guards burst into applause.

Warden Liu praised him. "Old Zhou is a man who remembers old ties. Little Yu needn't escort prisoners anymore—he can deliver meals with Old Zhou."

Little Yu's name was Yu Jie. He was a boy of seventeen or eighteen, and after several months, he had yet to be tainted by the gloomy air of the Heavenly Prison. Like Zhou Yi when he had first arrived, he stood obediently behind the other guards, speaking little.

Zhou Yi smiled. "Stay in the Heavenly Prison long enough, and you get used to its smell."

"Spring Breeze Pavilion tonight. We'll welcome Old Zhou back and wash away the dust for him."

Zhu Xiaowei slung an arm around Zhou Yi's shoulders and lowered his voice. "The prison hasn't been peaceful lately. People keep seeing ghostly shadows at night. Old Zhou, you're a great expert now, so keep an eye out!"

"I understand."

Zhou Yi had once proceeded with the utmost caution, but now that he had advanced to an Innate Grandmaster, he could loosen up a little.

Nothing happened during the day's shift.

Night fell.

The Heavenly Prison guards changed clothes, and more than twenty of them headed straight for Spring Breeze Pavilion.

Zhou Yi asked, "Old Feng, didn't you say you had a fierce wife at home? How come you're living so freely now?"

"Old Zhou, you don't know?"

Zhu Xiaowei waggled his eyebrows. "This bastard bought a pair of twins from the broker's market and secretly kept them in Shenjing. Somehow word got out, and his wife from the county came all the way here and made a huge scene..."

"I used to put up with that woman because her family had some silver."

Feng Qiao said in embarrassment and anger, "What the hell is that money worth now? I found an excuse and divorced her!"

The Heavenly Prison had ten times, a hundred times more profit to squeeze than Wannian County's jail. If one got a chance to escort exiled criminal officials, the silver earned from a single trip surpassed several years' worth of gains at the county jail.

Zhou Yi did not advise him that a wife who had shared coarse food and hardship must not be abandoned. Speaking too deeply to a shallow acquaintance would only breed resentment. Seeing the faint smiles and concealed scorn in his colleagues' eyes, he knew Feng Qiao would not have an easy time in the future.

Divorcing one's first wife after striking it rich—who would dare work alongside such a man?

"How are the twins?"

"Young and soft!"

Feng Qiao was not blind. Naturally, he could see his colleagues' contempt. But so what? As long as he did not care about face or prospects, it truly would not affect him much.

After half a year away, Spring Breeze Pavilion had changed its courtesan queen again.

The madam saw Zhou Yi and immediately beamed. "Master Zhou, it's been ages since you last came."

A customer of twenty-one years—though Zhou Yi did not compete for the courtesan queen or casually hand out rewards, the silver he had spent at Spring Breeze Pavilion over the years was enough to buy a residence in Shenjing.

Such loyal customers were the foundation that kept Spring Breeze Pavilion standing tall year after year!

Zhou Yi smiled. "What are you performing tonight?"

"Of course, Master Zhou's favorite!"

The madam called over a servant and gave a few orders. The song that was halfway through onstage was removed and replaced with Drunken Spring Breeze.

The new courtesan queen was a broad-chested woman. Her red lips parted slightly as she softly sang Drunken Spring Breeze. "...Gently pushing my man away, aching, aching, aching... Arms entwined, moving, moving, moving..."

A private room on the second floor.

Zhou Yi and Zhu Xiaowei sat at the head, while the other colleagues took seats to either side.

Without needing to be told, the servant brought out dishes, all frequent orders of Zhou Yi's. The wine was fifty-year Pear Blossom White.

"Master Zhou, eat and drink as you please today. There's no need to settle the bill."

The madam cracked a few more playful jokes, drawing endless laughter from the guards, before she sauntered away.

Zhu Xiaowei said, "When we come to Spring Breeze Pavilion, we have to bring Old Zhou. When we come on our own, we always sit among the scattered tables in the main hall. We've never enjoyed such thoughtful, attentive service!"

"If Lord Zhu spent ten thousand taels here, you could enjoy the same treatment."

Zhou Yi made a rough calculation. He spent at least several hundred taels each year. Over twenty years, it had long exceeded ten thousand taels.

"..."

Zhu Xiaowei muttered, "Old Zhou, why not learn from Old Feng? Buy a few and keep them at home. You couldn't spend this much silver in a lifetime!"

The colleagues exchanged looks as well. No matter how much profit there was to squeeze from the Heavenly Prison, they could not possibly rake in money like this.

Ten thousand taels at Spring Breeze Pavilion, and martial training of the body cost only more, never less. Body-tempering soups often required century-old medicinal ingredients, treasures unavailable even at market prices. Add the other expenses, and the total was simply impossible to calculate.

Besides, Zhou Yi only delivered meals. He never took part in escorting prisoners, where the biggest profits lay. Where had he gotten so much silver?

"I have many friends in the martial world. People are always coming to my door to give me money—the kind I can't refuse even if I want to."

Zhou Yi had not squeezed much silver from the Heavenly Prison. In recent years, quite a few prisoners had seen him carrying wine and meat inside and been frightened into promising gold, silver, treasures, and riches in exchange for their lives. Yet he had never gone to collect.

The silver divided within the prison came only from criminal officials' relatives paying for extra meals. After deducting the shares for colleagues and superiors, it was far from enough to spend at Spring Breeze Pavilion.

"So that was it!"

The guards suddenly remembered that the weathered Zhou Yi was a formidable martial artist.

A first-rate expert of the organ-refining realm could become a Banner Chief immediately upon entering the Brocade Guard. In the martial world, he could also make quite a name for himself—like the Flying Rainbow Swordsman, who had ridden roughshod across Yu Province, or the Twin Bears of the Northern Desert, whose might shook the northwest.

Zhu Xiaowei said, "From now on, all the prisoners' extra-meal money will go to Old Zhou. How much to give Little Yu, you can discuss among yourselves."

"Thank you, Lord Zhu."

Zhou Yi did not explain. The bulk of his income actually came from thieves who broke into private homes.

At first, they had merely been roadside bandits. Later, once he had gained the nickname Blood Prison Old Demon, some came seeking revenge for friends and relatives, while others were young martial heroes who sought to vanquish demons. They had left behind quite a few thumb rings, jade pendants, and banknotes.

Zhou Yi could not be bothered to distinguish good from evil. Once one entered the martial world, one had already prepared to die.

The earth in his courtyard was piled three feet high. Even if a zombie crawled out one day, Zhou Yi would not be surprised.

"Has anything major happened in Shenjing these past six months?"

"Hehe, Old Zhou, you missed quite a show!"

Zhu Xiaowei said with a grin, "Some time ago, the grand general returned to court in triumph. Shenjing was emptied of ten thousand households as everyone came out to watch. Before the envoys of Great Yong, His Majesty beheaded their prince and offered his head to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

"Then why did they negotiate peace again?"

After leaving seclusion, Zhou Yi had heard a few scattered remarks. It seemed they had made peace with Great Yong and returned five cities, among other things.

"War is cruel and perilous. No one can guarantee victory forever, so it is better to stop while ahead."

Zhu Xiaowei changed the subject. "At any rate, using that excuse, the grand lords of the court sent nine consecutive military orders through the Ministry of War, summoning General Li back from the northern frontier!"

Zhou Yi shook his head slightly. "Does Lord Zhu think General Li could have kept winning?"

Zhu Xiaowei answered with certainty, "Of course! General Li is a peerless commander seen once in a thousand years. Since he suppressed the Dragon Rebellion, he has never suffered a defeat."

Zhou Yi looked at his colleagues and asked again, "You all think so too?"

"Could there be something wrong with that?"

"General Li recognizes talent and employs people well. He promoted several frustrated commanders, and now they are all great generals whose might shakes their regions."

"General Li is also an Innate Grandmaster. He can take a man's head amid ten thousand troops. He might even be capable of destroying Great Yong!"

The colleagues all chimed in, believing Zhu Xiaowei's words made sense.

"Then let me ask you all..."

Zhou Yi said quietly, "How old is His Majesty now?"

Zhu Xiaowei silently counted. When the late emperor ascended the throne, the current emperor had been twelve. The Chongming reign had lasted forty-six years, and he had reigned another twelve after that. This year, he was already seventy-two.

Though emperors enjoyed every glory and luxury, aside from men like Emperor Chongming, who had been pure of heart and few in desires and neglected state affairs, living to seventy was already no easy feat.

Emperor Hongchang was old!

Though the guards were at the lowest rung of officialdom and did not even qualify for ranks, they guarded criminal officials every day and inevitably heard of court struggles. Naturally, they understood the dangers within.

Zhou Yi asked, "General Li recovered lost lands, crushed an enemy state, and expanded the realm. What rewards has he received for such heaven-shaking merit?"

A colleague immediately answered, "The Nine Bestowments, the Yellow Battle-Axe by proxy, permission to enter court without hurrying, to be announced in homage without being named, and the title Duke Who Pacifies the Nation!"

Cough, cough, cough!

Zhu Xiaowei coughed twice and stiffly cut off the topic, calling to the servant beside him.

"Bring the girls over. How can we come to Spring Breeze Pavilion and just drink?"

Once the conversation reached this point, the lively and delightful Spring Breeze Pavilion suddenly lost all its charm.

After several more rounds of wine, they dispersed and went home.

Cell Block Nine.

Zhou Yi sat cross-legged in the inner chamber, cultivating the Heaven Devouring Demon Art within while training the Nameless Incantation without.

The spiritual energy within the Heavenly Prison was gloomy and cold. Once gathered into his meridians and refined, it became ever more piercing and icy, utterly at odds with the warm, gentle True Essence in his Dantian.

"Cultivation also requires tension and relaxation. I'll rest for the next few days and first root out the little thief in the Heavenly Prison."

Zhou Yi lay on his bed, pressing his ear to the brick bed's surface as Innate True Essence circulated through his meridians.

In an instant.

Snoring, pained groans, scolding, footsteps, drinking, guards drinking and playing finger-guessing games, snakes and rats scurrying about—noisy chatter and clamoring sounds all mixed together, as if countless ants were crawling beside his ears.

Earth Listening Art!

Before dying, some nameless tomb robber had exchanged this technique for a roasted chicken.

By tapping the ground and then using the Earth Listening Art, a tomb robber could determine whether there was an empty space several yards underground, then use other methods to infer whether it was a tomb or an underground cavern.

With Zhou Yi using it at the Innate realm, the entire Heavenly Prison fell within his listening range.

By sorting and distinguishing them, he blocked out useless sounds.

No matter how superb one's lightness skill, the wind and vibrations of dodging, turning, and shifting could not be concealed. If one was not proficient in lightness skills, it would be difficult to distinguish them amid the noisy chaos.

Zhou Yi had learned lightness skills from many prisoners, from all different schools.

Above were the Thief Saint, famous throughout the martial world; below were thieves who scampered over eaves and walls. He could be said to have gathered the strengths of every school.

As long as someone used lightness skill in the prison, they could not escape the Earth Listening Art.

The first half of the night passed without incident.

At dawn.

The guards on duty were exhausted. Some dozed with their heads on tables, while others found corners to rest in.

Amid the howling night wind, a shadow entered the Heavenly Prison.

The guard at the entrance drowsily raised his head. Seeing no one, he continued leaning against the wall in a stupor.

The oil lamps in the prison corridors flickered bright and dim. Shadows cast upon the walls swayed with the flames, like struggling ghosts.

The shadow moved as though entering an empty land, reaching the depths of the Heavenly Prison.

Cell Two of Block A.

It stood empty, with no prisoners yet housed inside. The shadow used a key to open the iron lock and entered with practiced familiarity.

The shadow searched all around, not overlooking a single crevice.

Click!

The iron door moved without wind and locked the shadow inside the cell.

"Who?"

A clear cry of alarm came from within the shadow. It instinctively reached to open the cell door, only to see Sword Qi, nearly solid in form, stab toward it.

Slash!

The Sword Qi struck the cell door, and the bars forged from refined steel snapped apart at once.

"Spare my life, Senior!"

The shadow staggered back in terror. The gray-black mist surrounding it rapidly dispersed, revealing the person within.

"Hehehehe..."

A string of a demon's trademark strange laughter rang out. An aged, deep voice sounded directly beside Yu Jie's ear.

"Boy, what are you doing in the Heavenly Prison?"

The voice drifted without trace, impossible to tell from which direction it came.

Sweat beaded on Yu Jie's forehead. He repeatedly bowed to the surrounding air, believing he had encountered some unparalleled old monster.

"This junior is Yu Shitou's grandson. I came to the Heavenly Prison to retrieve my ancestral inheritance. I mean absolutely no offense!"