The Emperor Is Old

Zhou Yi's absence from work until news of his death spread didn't cause any trouble when he returned to his post.

A brief display of his two-finger blade-breaking technique drew cheers from the prison guards.

Warden Liu praised, "Old Zhou is a sentimental guy. Yu Jie doesn't need to escort him; just deliver the meals with Old Zhou."

Yu Jie, a young man of seventeen or eighteen, hadn't yet been tainted by the gloomy atmosphere of the Heavenly Prison after several months. He was like Zhou Yi when he first came to the Heavenly Prison, obediently standing behind the other prison guards, quiet and reserved.

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "After staying in the Heavenly Prison for so long, I've grown accustomed to the smell here."

"Spring Breeze Pavilion tonight, to welcome Old Zhou back and wash away the dust."

Zhu Xiaowei put his arm around Zhou Yi's shoulder and whispered, "Things haven't been peaceful in the prison lately. People keep seeing ghostly figures at night. Old Zhou, you're a master now, keep a close eye out!"

"I understand."

Zhou Yi used to be cautious, but now that he had advanced to Innate Grandmaster, he could relax a little.

The day passed uneventfully.

As night fell, the Heavenly Prison guards changed their clothes, and a group of them headed straight for the Spring Breeze Pavilion.

Zhou Yi asked, "Old Feng, I heard you say you had a fierce wife at home. Are you living the high life now?"

"Old Zhou doesn't know yet?"

Zhu Xiaowei winked and said, "This guy bought a pair of twins from the brokers and secretly kept them in Shenjing. Someone must have blabbed, because his wife from the county came and made a scene..."

"Originally, I was putting up with that woman because her family had some money, so I tolerated her a bit."

Feng Qiao said, embarrassed, "Now that money is nothing! I found an excuse and divorced her!"

The kickbacks in the Heavenly Prison are ten or even a hundred times higher than in the Wan County Prison. Just escorting an exiled official once can earn more silver than several years in the county prison.

Zhou Yi didn't advise him not to abandon his wife who had shared his hardships. Speaking too frankly would only invite resentment. Seeing the smiles on the faces of his colleagues, but the contempt in their eyes, he knew that Feng Qiao wouldn't have a good future.

Who would dare to work with someone who abandons his wife after becoming successful?

"How are the twins?"

"Young, very juicy!"

Feng Qiao wasn't blind; he could naturally see the contempt of his colleagues, but so what? As long as he didn't care about his reputation and future, it wouldn't really affect anything.

It had been half a year since he last came, and the Spring Breeze Pavilion had changed its courtesan.

When the madam saw Zhou Yi, her face immediately lit up with a smile: "Master Zhou, it's been a while since you've been here."

A loyal customer of twenty-one years, although Zhou Yi didn't compete for the courtesan and didn't give out rewards casually, the silver he had spent at the Spring Breeze Pavilion over the years was enough to buy a house in Shenjing.

These loyal customers were the foundation of the Spring Breeze Pavilion's enduring success!

Zhou Yi smiled and asked, "What's playing tonight?"

"Of course, it's what Master Zhou loves to hear!"

The madam called a waiter and gave a few instructions, then removed the song that was halfway through on the stage and replaced it with Drunken Spring Breeze.

The new courtesan was a woman with a generous bosom. Her red lips parted slightly as she softly sang Drunken Spring Breeze: "...Gently push the man away, ouch, ouch, ouch...arms entwined, move, move, move..."

Second-floor private room.

Zhou Yi and Zhu Xiaowei took the lead, with the other colleagues seated on either side.

Without needing to be told, the waiter brought up dishes, all of which Zhou Yi often ordered, and the wine was fifty-year-old Pear Blossom White.

"Master Zhou, eat and drink whatever you like today, no need to pay the bill,"

The madam said a few more witty remarks, drawing laughter from the prison guards, before gracefully leaving.

Zhu Xiaowei said, "You have to call Old Zhou when you come to the Spring Breeze Pavilion. If we come by ourselves, we always sit in the lobby, and we never enjoy such attentive and thoughtful service!"

"Master Zhu can enjoy this treatment if he spends ten thousand taels of silver here."

Zhou Yi roughly calculated that he spent at least several hundred taels each year, and over twenty years, it had long exceeded ten thousand taels.

"..."

Zhu Xiaowei muttered, "Old Zhou, why don't you learn from Old Feng and buy a few to keep at home? You wouldn't need so much silver in a lifetime!"

The other colleagues also exchanged glances. Even if the Heavenly Prison had a lot of kickbacks, you couldn't make this much money.

Ten thousand taels at the Spring Breeze Pavilion was no less than Martial Path body tempering. Body tempering soup often used hundred-year-old medicinal materials, priceless treasures, plus other expenses, it was simply incalculable.

What's more, Zhou Yi only delivered meals. He never went to escort prisoners for the big kickbacks. Where did he get so much silver?

"I have many friends in the martial world. People always come to my door to give me money. I can't refuse."

Zhou Yi hadn't earned much silver in the Heavenly Prison. In recent years, there had been many prisoners who, upon seeing him enter with wine and meat, were so frightened that they promised gold, silver, and treasures to beg for their lives, but he had never taken them.

The silver distributed in the prison was only the extra meal money from the families of the corrupt officials, and after deducting the portions for colleagues and superiors, it was far from enough to spend at the Spring Breeze Pavilion.

"So that's how it is!"

The prison guards suddenly remembered that the old-looking Zhou Yi was a Martial Path expert.

A first-rate expert in the Viscera Training Realm could be directly promoted to a small flag in the Brocade Guard, and could also make a name for himself in the martial world. For example, the Flying Rainbow Swordsman dominated Yu Province, and the Desert North Twin Bears were mighty in the Northwest.

Zhu Xiaowei said, "From now on, Old Zhou will be in charge of the extra meal money for the prisoners. You can discuss how much to give to Little Yu among yourselves."

"Thank you, Warden Zhu."

Zhou Yi didn't bother to explain that the bulk of his income actually came from thieves who broke into private residences.

At first, they were just petty highwaymen, but later, with the moniker of the Blood Prison Old Demon, there were those seeking revenge for relatives and friends, as well as young martial arts heroes subduing demons, leaving behind many finger rings, jade pendants, and silver notes.

Zhou Yi was too lazy to distinguish between good and bad; once you enter the martial world, you've prepared for death.

The soil in the yard was already three feet high. Zhou Yi wouldn't be surprised if a zombie crawled out one day.

"What major events have happened in Shenjing in the past six months?"

"Hehe, Old Zhou, you've missed a great show!"

Zhu Xiaowei laughed, "Some time ago, the General returned victoriously to the court, and the whole of Shenjing turned out to watch. In front of the Great Yong envoys, His Majesty beheaded their prince and offered it to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

"Then why are they negotiating peace again?"

After Zhou Yi came out of seclusion, he heard snippets of information, seemingly about negotiating peace with Great Yong and returning five cities.

"War is a dangerous thing, and no one can guarantee continuous victories. It's better to quit while you're ahead."

Zhu Xiaowei changed the subject, "Anyway, the bigwigs in the court used this reason, and the Ministry of War issued nine military orders in a row, recalling General Li from the Northern Frontier!"

Zhou Yi shook his head slightly, "Does Warden Zhu think General Li could have continued to win?"

Zhu Xiaowei affirmed, "Of course! General Li is a once-in-a-millennium famous general, undefeated since pacifying the Dragon Rebellion."

Zhou Yi looked at his colleagues and asked, "Do you all think so too?"

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"General Li is good at recognizing talent and has promoted several frustrated generals, who are now all mighty generals in their own right."

"General Li is also an Innate Grandmaster, capable of taking a person's head from the midst of an army. Even destroying Great Yong is possible!"

His colleagues echoed, all agreeing with Zhu Xiaowei.

"Then let me ask you..."

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

Zhu Xiaowei calculated silently in his mind. The late Emperor was twelve years old when the current Emperor ascended the throne, and the Chongming era lasted for forty-six years, plus the twelve years since he ascended the throne, making him seventy-two years old this year.

Although emperors enjoy wealth and glory, it's not easy to live to seventy, except for Emperor Chongming, who was indifferent and didn't care about politics.

The Hongchang Emperor is old!

Although the prison guards were the lowest level of officials, not even rated, they often heard about court struggles while guarding criminal officials and naturally understood the dangers involved.

Zhou Yi asked, "General Li has recovered lost territory, defeated the enemy, and expanded the territory. What rewards has he received for such outstanding achievements?"

A colleague immediately replied, "Granted the Nine Bestowments, the Yellow Battle-Axe, exemption from courtly haste, no name called during audience, and the title of Duke Who Pacifies the Nation!"

"Cough cough cough!"

Zhu Xiaowei coughed twice, abruptly interrupting the topic, and shouted to the waiter beside him.

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

The topic suddenly stopped there, and the originally lively and joyful Spring Breeze Pavilion suddenly lost its appeal.

After drinking a few more rounds, they dispersed and went home.

Cell Number C-9.

Zhou Yi sat cross-legged in the inner room, using the Heaven Devouring Demon Art internally and practicing the Nameless Incantation externally.

The spiritual energy in the Heavenly Prison was eerie and cold. When it gathered in his meridians and was refined, it became even more biting and icy, incompatible with the warm true energy in his dantian.

"Cultivation also requires a balance of tension and relaxation. I'll rest for a few days and first ferret out the little thieves in the Heavenly Prison."

Zhou Yi lay on the bed, his ear pressed against the brick surface, and his Innate True Energy circulated along his meridians.

Instantly.

Snores, groans, scolding, footsteps, drinking, prison guards drinking and gambling, snakes and rats scurrying around, noisy and chattering, all kinds of sounds mixed together, like countless ants crawling in his ears.

Earth Listening Technique!

An unnamed tomb robber exchanged this technique for a roast chicken before his death.

The tomb robber would tap the ground and then use the Earth Listening Technique to determine if there was space several feet underground, and then use other methods to deduce whether it was a tomb or a cave.

Zhou Yi used it with his Innate Realm, and the entire Heavenly Prison was within his listening range.

By distinguishing and identifying, he filtered out useless sounds.

No matter how good one's lightness skill is, there will be wind and vibrations between movements. If one is not proficient in lightness skill, it is difficult to distinguish it from the noisy and chaotic sounds.

Zhou Yi learned lightness skills from various schools from many prisoners.

There was the famous Thief Saint and the thieves who walked on rooftops. He had learned from many sources.

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

The first half of the night passed without incident.

As dawn approached, the prison guards on duty, exhausted, either dozed off at their desks or sought a corner to rest.

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

The prison guard on duty at the entrance groggily looked up, saw no one, and continued to lean against the wall, half-asleep.

The oil lamps in the prison corridor flickered, casting shadows on the walls that swayed with the light, resembling struggling ghosts.

The shadow moved as if in an uninhabited place, heading straight into the depths of the Heavenly Prison.

Cell Two, Block A.

Empty and temporarily unoccupied, the shadow used a key to unlock the iron lock and entered with practiced ease.

The shadow searched everywhere, not missing any crack or crevice.

Clang!

The iron door swung shut on its own, trapping the shadow inside the cell.

"Who's there?"

A clear, startled cry came from within the shadow. Instinctively, it reached for the cell door, only to see a sword qi, almost tangible, hurtling towards it.

Swish!

The sword qi struck the cell door, and the steel-forged bars snapped instantly.

"Senior, spare me!"

The shadow retreated in terror, and the gray-black mist surrounding it quickly dissipated, revealing the person inside.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

A series of signature fiendish cackles, a deep and aged voice, echoed directly in Yu Jie's ears.

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

The voice was ethereal and untraceable, making it impossible to discern its origin.

Sweat beaded on Yu Jie's forehead as he bowed repeatedly to his surroundings, convinced that he had encountered an unparalleled old monster.

"Junior is Yu Shitou's grandson, here to retrieve my ancestor's inheritance. I have absolutely no intention of causing offense!"