I Am Little Zhou

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

The streets were already bustling with breakfast stalls.

Zhou Yi ate his way from one end to the other, the food dissolving into nothingness as his magical power circulated within him.

"This savory tofu pudding is excellent, another bowl please!"

He greeted his neighbors with a smile as he ate, addressing the younger ones as "Auntie" and the older ones as "Granny," never erring.

A neighbor asked, puzzled, "Who's this handsome young man?"

"My master was Zhou Yi; before he passed, he told me to come to Shenjing and make my way in the world."

Zhou Yi now appeared to be in his early twenties, bearing a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to his true face. Nourished by spiritual energy over the years, his appearance was already quite striking in the eyes of ordinary people.

Compared to Lao Bai, Zhou Yi comforted himself by believing that temperament was more important than looks.

"Zhou Yi's disciple!"

The old neighbor was dubious. "You were staying in that courtyard last night?"

Zhou Yi was regarded as a capable man by the people in the neighborhood, always speaking gently. If a neighbor encountered any difficulties, he could resolve them with a word to the yamen, giving him considerable prestige.

"Yes, my master set up traps in the courtyard. Anyone who goes in would be..."

Zhou Yi made a throat-slitting gesture. "I made quite a commotion dismantling the traps last night, and I accidentally disturbed you, sir."

"I see, no matter, no matter."

The old man laughed. "I knew it! How could Zhou Yi, such a capable man, have a haunted house!"

The others chimed in with delight. Most of those who hadn't moved away since the haunting were simply too poor to afford it.

Now that the rumors were dispelled, not only was everyone relieved, but the depressed property values would also rebound.

Around midday.

Zhou Yi arrived at the Heavenly Prison. The guards on duty didn't recognize him, but they all recognized silver.

"Warden Liu?"

The guard recalled, "Lord Liu has been promoted; he's now a Vice Minister of Rites in the Ministry of Justice. You should go to the Ministry of Justice to find him."

Just then.

An old jailer emerged from the prison, escorting a prisoner in prison garb.

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward to greet him. "Are you perhaps Lord Feng?"

Feng Qiao had been a jailer for most of his life, and this was the first time anyone had called him "Lord." He was immediately pleased, mimicking the drawn-out tones of the Warden.

"Yes, who are you? What brings you to the Heavenly Prison?"

"Lord Feng, before my master Zhou Yi passed away, he instructed me to come to the Heavenly Prison to find a job. My master told me that Lord Feng was born with a dignified presence and a fortune mole on his forehead."

Zhou Yi took out a letter of recommendation from his pocket, which he had written himself, so the handwriting was undoubtedly his.

"Lao Zhou's... disciple?"

Feng Qiao scrutinized him, comparing him to his memory of Zhou Yi, and found that they resembled each other by forty or fifty percent. "That old Zhou was naturally amorous, treating the Spring Breeze Pavilion like his own home. You wouldn't happen to be his son, would you?"

"My hometown is in Yizhou. I became a refugee during the war."

Zhou Yi said, "I almost starved to death in Xuanzhou. Fortunately, I met my master, who said I had talent for the Martial Path and took me as a disciple."

This background was impossible to verify. Yizhou had only been incorporated into the Fengyang Kingdom for five or six years before Great Yong reclaimed it, so they hadn't completely sorted out the population under their rule.

"Really not?"

Feng Qiao looked suspicious but didn't make things difficult. "I'll take you to find Captain Lu. He was very close to your master and should be able to arrange a job for you."

A moment later.

Captain Lu asked, "You're really not Lao Zhou's son?"

Zhou Yi sighed, denying it repeatedly.

"How did Lao Zhou die?"

Captain Lu said, "With his strength back then, it was said that he was at the top in Shenjing. Don't Martial Path experts usually live long lives?"

Zhou Yi looked sad. "Five years ago, my master forcibly attempted marrow cleansing. He failed, and his blood energy damaged his bone marrow. He lingered for four years, but he couldn't make it."

Martial Path body tempering involved the skin, membranes, tendons, bones, and internal organs, requiring accumulated polishing. Those with excellent talent who didn't lack techniques or medicinal soups basically didn't encounter major bottlenecks.

Only marrow cleansing was different. Blood energy penetrated deep into the bones, cleansing the bone marrow, which was ten times weaker than the internal organs. A single misstep could cause severe damage.

Most of those old experts at the peak of organ refinement in the martial world knew the method of marrow cleansing, but they didn't dare to go further.

Those at the organ refinement stage already had wealth and status, so they no longer had the courage to risk their lives!

"A clay pot is always broken at the well. Lao Zhou was such a wise man, cautious his whole life, why did he suddenly have a change of heart in his old age?"

Captain Lu sighed, looked at the recommendation letter, and nodded. "Since you're Lao Zhou's disciple, I should arrange a job for you. What are your plans?"

"Delivering meals, I guess."

Zhou Yi said, "My master told me that delivering meals keeps you alive longer."

"Haha!"

Captain Lu clapped his hands and laughed, "That must be something Lao Zhou said. Zhou Li, hmm, from now on we'll call you Little Zhou. You'll be in charge of delivering meals during the day."

"Thank you, Captain Lu."

Zhou Yi knew it would be difficult to gain trust in a short time. Spies often infiltrated the Heavenly Prison, trying to secretly rescue certain prisoners.

This problem wasn't difficult to solve. He just needed to stay in prison for ten or twenty years, and then no one would suspect him.

Time will smooth everything over!

Captain Lu said, "How much of your master's interrogation skills did you learn?"

"My master praised me, saying I surpassed him."

Zhou Yi said confidently, "Does Captain Lu have any difficult prisoners? Just hand them over to me. At most a day, and even an iron-willed man won't be able to hold out."

"There is one, actually."

Captain Lu said, "We caught a bandit lackey a few days ago. We've been interrogating him for days, but he still won't reveal where their hideout is."

Zhou Yi feigned confusion at the right moment, "Are there bandits near Shenjing?"

Living longer and experiencing more naturally improved his acting skills. It was easy to pretend to be a naive and inexperienced youth.

"There are people who can't get enough to eat everywhere, so naturally there are bandits everywhere."

Seeing this appearance, Captain Lu's suspicions lessened somewhat, "It's just that they were blind. It would have been one thing if they had robbed an ordinary merchant, but a few days ago they actually robbed the Vice Minister of Rites' goods. The higher-ups have ordered them to be wiped out!"

"Mere bandits are easy to interrogate!"

Half an hour later.

Zhou Yi pried open the bandit's mouth. The bandit's main camp was actually located on the southern slope of Longevity Mountain.

The bandits and the Imperial Guards stationed at Longevity Mountain were secretly colluding with each other. Whenever officers came to investigate, the Imperial Guards would cover up the bandits' tracks, which was why they could never be wiped out.

The bandits were responsible for robbing merchants' goods, and the Imperial Guards were responsible for selling the stolen goods and dividing the money!

"Little Zhou, well done!"

Captain Lu's eyes lit up, "This is a great achievement! We can show our faces before His Majesty!"

Bandits, Imperial Guards, Vice Minister of Rites, all of them couldn't compare to the southern slope of Longevity Mountain.

The location of the Fengyang Kingdom's imperial tombs had actually become a bandit hideout. To put it bluntly, weren't they occupying the Zhao Dynasty's dragon energy?

"Congratulations, Captain Lu."

Zhou Yi expressed slight shock, but his heart was calm. He had been in the Heavenly Prison for almost forty years, and he had seen even more bizarre cases.

Zhou Yi had also seen the Imperial Guards at the imperial tombs a couple of times. They could be said to be a group of poor wretches forgotten by the world.

Only when the emperor was buried could they eat a few meals of meat and vegetables. Usually, they made a living by farming on the mountain.

Now that they couldn't get enough to eat, they were thinking about making money on the side. Understandable!

"When did I become so cold-blooded?"

Zhou Yi touched his face, shook his head slightly, and smiled as he congratulated Captain Lu again.

The follow-up matters would be handled by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War to investigate and arrest the thieves. Zhou Yi had made a great contribution as soon as he entered the prison, and it was easy for him to gain a firm foothold.

The prison guards in the prison had a good attitude towards "Zhou Li" because they had received a lot of favors from his master in the past.

For example, listening to music at the Spring Breeze Pavilion was always paid for by Zhou Yi.