Destroying the Clan's Scion

Martial Path experts truly have an appetite.

A little less than half a bucket of thin porridge vanished into the burly man's stomach.

Zhou Yi cupped his fist in salute and said, "Esteemed hero, may I inquire as to your name?"

The man ignored Zhou Yi, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. His internal organs hummed, and his muscles and bones trembled incessantly.

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was as white as snow, and his aura instantly weakened.

Zhou Yi watched from the side, guessing that the man was circulating his energy to heal his injuries, but it seemed the effect wasn't ideal.

"What a vicious poison!"

The man spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. "My name is Wei Chang."

"What does Hero Wei like to eat? I'll bring some tomorrow." Zhou Yi had previously brought food to prisoners, charging a hundred times the outside price, but the money he earned was all spent on nourishing tonics.

Wei Chang said coldly, "My entire family has been exiled. I don't have any silver to bribe you."

"I simply admire what Hero Wei has done!"

Zhou Yi said solemnly, "With my personality, I can't do such selfless things, but that doesn't stop me from admiring heroes. I can only offer some food as a farewell!"

Wei Chang closed his eyes and said nothing more.

Zhou Yi carried the food bucket and left. Just as he stepped out of the prison door, a voice came from inside.

"Do you have wine?"

"Yes!"

The next day.

Zhou Yi first reported for duty at the front office, then went to the kitchen to pick up the food bucket.

The Heavenly Prison kitchen had two sections, a large one for cooking thin porridge, casually boiling coarse rice and rotten vegetable leaves, just enough to keep people from dying.

The small kitchen was exquisitely laid out, with all kinds of ingredients like chicken, duck, fish, and meat. The head chef was Chef Liu from Dǐngxiāng Restaurant.

"Brother Yi, someone was brought into Cell C-9 last night. He's got quite a temper, so be careful when serving him." Chef Liu handed Zhou Yi a specially prepared food box.

Zhou Yi asked curiously, "Brother Liu, what's his background?"

The Heavenly Prison often held special prisoners, either those whose crimes were undetermined or those who had family and colleagues to look after them. The small kitchen was for preparing food for them.

Chef Liu whispered, "I heard it's Chancellor Long's only son. Last night, he got drunk at Spring Breeze Pavilion and had a conflict with a merchant, actually beating him to death on the spot!"

Zhou Yi asked in confusion, "Shouldn't such cases be sent to the Capital Prison?"

"That's not the end of it!"

Chef Liu looked around outside, and only continued when he saw no one was there, "This young master killed the man, but wasn't satisfied. He led a group of family servants into the man's home and wiped out his entire family..."

As he spoke, he made a throat-slitting gesture.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but be horrified. This Young Master Long was too arrogant, daring to commit a Family Extermination case under the Emperor's nose.

Shocking!

Zhou Yi carried the food box and bucket into the Heavenly Prison, greeted Zhang Zhou and the others, and made his way to Cell C-9 in the deepest part.

The Heavenly Prison had three types of prisons: A, B, and C. Type A held thieves and murderers, Type B held political prisoners or scholars, and Type C held nobles and special prisoners.

Cell C-9 was the most clean and comfortable, with two original prison cells divided into a room and a hall.

Zhou Yi opened the prison door, but before he could enter, a shout came.

"Who is it?"

The speaker was a sturdy man in tight-fitting clothes, glaring coldly at Zhou Yi's movements.

"Big brother, I'm here to deliver food for Young Master Long." Zhou Yi respectfully handed over the food box.

Outside Cell C-9 were four strong men, two guarding the prison door and two guarding the inner room door, obviously responsible for protecting Young Master Long's safety.

Hearing this, the man lowered his guard, took out a silver needle from his pocket, and tested the food in the food box one by one.

"Get out!"

Zhou Yi bowed and retreated, preparing to close the prison door.

A young master came out of the inner room, his clothes disheveled, holding a beautiful woman in his arms.

"Old Fourth, when did my dad say I could get out?"

The poison-testing man said, "Young Master, this time it's a bit tricky. That Chen fellow is actually a branch of the Duke of Qi's Mansion, so you'll have to stay a few more days."

"What Duke of Qi's Mansion? This Fengyang Kingdom is my dad's..."

The prison door closed tightly, and the rest of the words could not be heard clearly.

Zhou Yi carried the bucket and delivered food to the prisoners one by one, finally going to Cell A-12. He observed that there was no one around and took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket.

"Hero Wei, this is Pear Blossom White, a famous Shenjing liquor, twenty years aged!"

Opening the bottle, a rich fragrance of pear blossoms wafted out.

Wei Chang was still hanging upside down, his arms and legs bound by shackles and iron chains, even his neck secured with an iron ring.

"Have a taste, hero."

Zhou Yi carefully poured the wine into Wei Chang's mouth.

Wei Chang's throat bobbed, and a fire burned all the way down his throat to his stomach. It was indeed fine wine.

"Have some meat too."

Zhou Yi took out a roast chicken from his bosom and tore off a strip of meat, offering it to his mouth.

Wei Chang had no teeth, making it difficult to tear and chew, so he swallowed the chicken in large chunks.

"Drink!"

After that, Zhou Yi alternated between sips of wine and bites of meat. A whole pot of Pear Blossom White and a roast chicken disappeared into Wei Chang's belly.

"Refreshing!"

Wei Chang exhaled deeply. "As expected of the fine wines of Shenjing. The poor lands of Yu Province are far inferior."

Zhou Yi said, "This Pear Blossom White is just one of many. There's also Qionghua Brew, Hall-Illuminating Red, Jade Dew Spring, and more. I'll bring a bottle every day, guaranteeing you'll taste all the fine wines of Shenjing!"

Wei Chang said coldly, "There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. You're after Wei's martial arts, aren't you?"

Zhou Yi's face lit up, and he didn't hide it.

"Hero Wei, the reason I'm offering you wine and meat is indeed because of this selfish desire."

After getting off work yesterday, Zhou Yi had already inquired around. There were many martial arts schools in Shenjing that taught ordinary body-tempering techniques.

The tuition ranged from ten to hundreds of taels of silver, and subsequent purchases of nourishing medicinal soups would cost at least several thousand taels of silver to achieve any significant progress.

To learn more profound body-tempering methods, one had to become a disciple of a martial arts school and formally apprentice.

In this era, apprenticeship wasn't just a matter of having a title. Once a master, always a father. The disciple had to serve their master in all matters, doing many dirty and tiring tasks, and inevitably fighting enemies on their master's behalf.

A son of a thousand gold should not sit under a dangerous eave!

Zhou Yi wanted to learn self-defense techniques, but he wouldn't put the cart before the horse and risk his life for the sake of a technique.

As for inner energy techniques, Zhou Yi inquired at several martial arts schools, but only the head instructors had the opportunity to practice them.

This made Wei Chang all the more valuable!

Wei Chang was only in his thirties or forties and had already reached the first-rate realm, famous throughout Yu Province. The techniques he casually taught would be far superior to those of the martial arts schools. In a month, Wei Chang would be executed, leaving no karma behind, truly a win-win opportunity.

"Wei is irreconcilable with the imperial court. Why would I pass on the Martial Path to you?"

After Wei Chang finished speaking, he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, circulating his inner energy to break through the Brocade Guard's secret drug.

Zhou Yi was not discouraged and packed up the wine pot and food bucket before leaving the prison cell.

"Trust can't be built in a day. Take it slow. Anyway, there's plenty of time."

"Even if Wei Chang is ultimately unwilling to impart his skills, there are other prisoners in the Heavenly Prison. However, they are all villains who have committed many evils, acting strangely and ferociously. Even if I teach them skills, they can't be easily cultivated!"

From then on.

Zhou Yi's daily routine was extremely regular: sleep, clock in, deliver food, drink with Wei Chang, sleep, clock in...

In just over half a month, Zhou Yi discovered that he was already familiar with life in Fengyang Kingdom.

He originally thought that without entertainment such as cell phones, games, and movies, life would be boring and tasteless. However, after going to the Pleasure Quarter with his colleagues, he immediately opened up a new world.

The young ladies were knowledgeable, considerate, and enthusiastic, making Zhou Yi linger and forget to return.

This day.

Zhou Yi delivered food and came to Wei Chang's cell to drink.

"Hero, this Autumn Dew Rich is only ten years old now. I've been a little short on money these past few days!"

Wei Chang glanced at him and said with disdain, "Did you throw all your silver into brothels?"

Zhou Yi touched his face and said, "Is it that obvious?"

Wei Chang said, "Your face is flushed, a sign of excessive energy that needs to be released!"

Zhou Yi said in surprise, "Hero, do you also understand medicine?"

"Medicine and martial arts have never been separate! Fortunately, you know how to restrain yourself and have preserved your yang, otherwise, practicing the Martial Path would be twice as difficult." Wei Chang's tone also contained some surprise, not expecting that Zhou Yi could actually hold back.

Zhou Yi naturally understood the principle of cherishing youthful essence and asked curiously, "According to you, hero, did those martial arts masters not break their vows when they were young?"

Wei Chang said leisurely, "Among the Martial Path techniques, there are many secret methods for locking essence and strengthening yang..."

Zhou Yi's expression became solemn, and he bowed respectfully.

"Please, hero, teach me!"