A Bad Good Man

The forty-sixth year of Chongming, winter.

The Emperor died, and Chancellor Long rebelled.

Duke Weiyuan took the late Emperor's testamentary edict and led troops to suppress the revolt, staining Anding Gate with blood.

The following day.

Shenjing was placed under military control and martial law. The remnants of Chancellor Long's faction were hunted down, and the Heavenly Prison was packed to bursting.

Heavenly Prison.

Someone clung to the bars and begged for mercy.

"Your Majesty, this old minister is innocent!"

"This minister has absolutely nothing to do with that rebel Long!"

"That rebel Long deserves to be executed by every man under heaven!"

Others knew death was certain and cursed Emperor Chongming viciously before they died.

"Heaven has no eyes! What right does that dog Emperor have to rule the people?"

"The Zhao imperial clan deserves to die!"

"Dog Emperor, this old man wishes he could devour your flesh and gnaw your bones!"

"You old bastard, you dare insult the late Emperor? This official cannot live under the same sky as you!"

"Old Dog Lu, if Chancellor Long hadn't sheltered you back then, your entire family would have been executed long ago for embezzling hundreds of thousands of taels in military pay!"

"..."

The Heavenly Prison had never been so lively. It was a chaotic uproar, like a marketplace.

As the two sides cursed each other, they even came to blows. Civil officials yanked hair, while military officers threw kicks between the legs.

The jailers on duty were dazzled by the spectacle, whispering that these great figures could not even preserve their dignity before death.

Cell Block Nine.

It had an inner and outer chamber, clean and orderly.

Zhou Yi opened the cell door. Only two middle-aged men were imprisoned inside.

A massive cangue, half a man's height, was locked around their necks. They could only kneel with their heads lowered, or else the cangue would crush their necks alive.

Hearing footsteps, the prisoners struggled to raise their heads and glance over.

Zhou Yi greeted them with a smile. "Young Master Long, we meet again!"

"Who are you?"

Young Master Long's voice was dry and hoarse. He was utterly different from the arrogant tyrant he had been when he first entered the Heavenly Prison.

"That was true. How could a noble young master like you remember a nobody like me?"

Zhou Yi smiled brightly. "Whenever Young Master Long came to the Heavenly Prison these past years, I was the one who brought your meals. If I served you poorly, I even got slapped for it."

Young Master Long furrowed his brow, vaguely recalling something.

But he had beaten and killed too many people in his daily life to count them all. He still could not remember when he had ever struck Zhou Yi.

"Petty man!"

Young Master Long sneered. "Usually, you grovel like a dog. You only dare seek revenge now that this young master has fallen on hard times!"

"I hope Young Master Long can remain this tough."

Zhou Yi was not angry in the slightest. He had never intended to be a good man, because he did not want anyone pointing a gun at him.

So he would be a bad good man, an evil kind man.

If Young Master Long slapped him once, then even if ten years had passed, he had to repay it.

Forgiving him was the Buddha's business. Zhou Yi was only responsible for sending him to the Western Paradise!

"Over the years in the Heavenly Prison, I learned rather a mixed bag of things. Time is limited, so I won't try them one by one."

Zhou Yi spoke unhurriedly, as though chatting with an old friend. "You may be summoned for interrogation in a few days, so torture instruments are out of the question. Please try this pill, Young Master Long..."

As he spoke, he drew a pill from his sleeve. It was round and plump, bright red, with strange patterns across its surface.

"A few years ago, the Brocade Guard caught a bandit proficient in gu insects. Before he died, he traded this pill for a jar of ten-year Pear Blossom White."

Whenever Zhou Yi mentioned Pear Blossom White, he thought of Wei Chang. Much of his resentment toward Young Master Long over the years stemmed from that.

The good had their heads cut off, while the bad lived at ease.

"According to that bandit, there is an exotic insect inside this pill. After it is swallowed, it hatches in the stomach and intestines, then feeds on the five viscera and six bowels. Since it eats little, the one afflicted by the gu can still live for a year or two."

Zhou Yi grabbed Young Master Long's mouth and pried it open with a little force. With a flick of his finger, the pill shot down his throat.

"Khk, khk, khk..."

Young Master Long choked speechless. Then the pill dissolved, and he felt something crawling down his throat.

It crawled into his lungs. Perhaps it was tired or hungry, for it began to gnaw at his flesh at will.

"Ah—"

An incomparably shrill scream brought the previously clamorous prison into sudden silence.

Young Master Long's neck and hands were fixed in the heavy cangue, and shackles bound his legs. Even though the pain drove him nearly to death, he could only struggle within a limited range.

His face flushed red, veins bulging, like a vicious ghost.

A moment later.

The gu insect had eaten its fill and began to rest. The pain gradually subsided. When Young Master Long raised his head to look at Zhou Yi again, his eyes were filled with terror.

"Rest well, Young Master Long. The gu insect may awaken at any time. From now on, even sleeping peacefully will be difficult."

After speaking, Zhou Yi turned to look beside him.

Young Master Long's younger brother was a teenager. It had to be said that Chancellor Long was still vigorous in his old age.

"Y-you-you, don't come over!"

The youth trembled. Seeing Zhou Yi stare at him, he was so frightened that he babbled nonsense. "My father is the Chief Minister, my mother is a princess... I have imperial blood. Don't come over..."

At that moment.

Niu Xiaowei entered with several jailers. Seeing that Young Master Long was still alive, he immediately let out a sigh of relief.

"I told you, would Little Yi not know the gravity of things?"

Torturing prisoners was commonplace in the Heavenly Prison. So long as it did not delay interrogations or executions, no one cared what tortures the criminals suffered.

Zhou Yi rose and bowed. In a low voice, he asked, "Uncle Niu, Lord Lei isn't here today?"

"Lord Lei is confined at home to reflect on his conduct. Everything in the prison has been handed over to me."

Niu Xiaowei's voice was low, but the delight on his face could not be concealed.

Lei Siyue had been implicated in the treason case and was very unlikely to return. If Niu Xiaowei took this chance to pull strings above and below, he would surely be able to take over the post of prison warden.

Only after the group left the cell did the youth's terror slowly fade. He turned to look at Young Master Long.

"Brother, are you feeling better?"

Young Master Long glared at the youth with venom in his eyes and ground his teeth. "It's all because of you, you bastard spawn! Otherwise, how would this young master have fallen to such a state? Father would certainly have accomplished his great plan!"

The youth muttered, "Brother, how can you say that? Mother and I both supported Father..."

"Don't mention that bitch!"

Young Master Long cursed furiously. "That bitch seduced Father while drunk back then and secretly gave birth to a bastard like you. She was that dog Emperor's nail. If she had not sent false intelligence saying that the dog Emperor still had several years to live, why would Father have rebelled in such haste?"

"According to the original plan, we would have transferred one hundred thousand troops from the Capital Garrison. Success would have been as certain as ten thousand against one!"

The youth stared blankly, unable to believe it. "Impossible! Impossible! How could Mother lie to me? She even said I have the imperial bloodline of two dynasties and would surely ascend the throne one day!"

"You idiot..."

Young Master Long was about to sneer a few more times when the gu insect suddenly stirred and began to gnaw at his stomach and intestines.

His shrill screams continued without end.

At dusk.

Zhou Yi carried a large wooden barrel and delivered food cell by cell.

The civil and military officials, who had gone hungry all day, were already ravenous. They did not care that the food tasted awful and squatted on the ground, slurping down porridge.

"Little brother, give me another ladleful, just one more!"

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice.

Zhou Yi examined the speaker carefully. The man was bent with age, and only after a long while did he recognize him. "Lord Liu, we meet again!"

Then he glanced at the cell number and could not help crying out in surprise.

"Still Cell Six of Block B!"

Vice Minister Liu had weathered countless hardships. How could he care about such mockery? He shamelessly said, "Little brother, this is fate!"

Zhou Yi asked, "Lord Liu, I've wanted to ask for years. Teacher Su had a close relationship with you back then, so why did you report him?"

"Old Su's mouth could never keep the gate shut!"

Vice Minister Liu shrugged. "If this old man hadn't reported him, trouble would have come sooner or later. Since we were both friends, rather than let someone else benefit, I might as well give the credit to myself!"

"Impressive!"

Zhou Yi was genuinely impressed. He promptly brought Vice Minister Liu fine wine and good meat.

Cell Twelve of Block A.

Zhou Yi poured the porridge into a basin and let the prisoners distribute it themselves.

The prisoners in Block A were all fierce criminals and hardened men. Most had some martial skill, and they ranked themselves according to strength.

The strong slept in beds and ate their fill. The weak guarded the piss buckets and went hungry.

A voice suddenly came from the corner of the cell. "Brother Yi, is that you?"

"Hall Master Luo? Why are you here?"

Hearing a familiar voice, Zhou Yi waved for the prisoners to move aside. Only then did he see the prisoner lying in the corner.

Luo Hu of the Five Tigers Martial Hall.

He had seven or eight saber wounds on his body, his clothes soaked crimson with blood. A broken arrow was lodged in his shoulder, and his legs were twisted at unnatural angles.

Only then did Zhou Yi understand why a first-rate expert of the Organ Refining Realm had not been confined separately. Luo Hu's injuries were too severe. Less than one-tenth of his strength remained, and his shattered leg bones had utterly eliminated any possibility of escape.

Leaning against the wall, Luo Hu pleaded, "Brother Yi, I have some things I wish to say to you alone."

"Fine."

Zhou Yi spoke to the jailer on duty and had the other prisoners moved elsewhere to squeeze into other cells for the time being.

The prisoners did not dare object. Perhaps if they made a loud fuss, they might ruin the jailers' business. Then from that day onward, they could forget about ever having a good day; they would be dealt with in a different way every day.

Only Zhou Yi and Luo Hu remained in Cell Twelve of Block A.

Luo Hu spoke directly. "I have a residence in the capital registered under an outsider's name. Several thousand taels of silver are hidden at the bottom of its well, along with the Five Tigers Fist Manual and a restorative medicine formula. Brother Yi, take them. It will be enough for you to cultivate to the Marrow Cleansing Realm."

Zhou Yi asked, "First tell me what you need."

Luo Hu lowered his voice. "Brother Yi, find a way to get my son out and leave an heir for the Luo family..."

"Your son can't be released!"

Zhou Yi refused decisively. Ten martial halls in the capital were implicated in treason, and their identities would all be verified before execution.

For distant relatives with no connection by eight poles, Zhou Yi could still find a way to get them out. But Luo Hu's own son would certainly be on the list of key targets.

"Then change the person."

Luo Hu said, "I secretly kept company with a widow in the capital. She is now eight months pregnant. Please look after her, Brother Yi."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, then nodded. "If the Brocade Guard haven't arrested her yet, I'll help."

Luo Hu lowered his voice further. "That residence is in Lechang Ward..."

Zhou Yi memorized the address, then said, "Hall Master Luo, you must do something for me too."

"What is it?"

"Go to Cell Six of Block B and beat someone to death!"

"Who?"

"Whoever eats the last meal before execution, beat him to death!"

Zhou Yi gave several quiet instructions, then left the cell and sent the original prisoners back in.

Very soon.

An argument broke out in the cell, then turned into a brawl.

Luo Hu was a tiger fallen upon the plains, bullied by dogs. A first-rate expert was beaten by rough farmhands, aggravating his injuries until he nearly died on the spot.

"What are you making a fuss for? No food for three days!"

After barking a few reprimands, the jailers feared Luo Hu would be beaten to death and transferred him to another cell.

Cell Six of Block B.

Vice Minister Liu was drinking wine and eating meat when the jailers threw in a blood-soaked prisoner. He could not help taking a few extra looks.

Luo Hu said, "What are you looking at?"

Vice Minister Liu said, "This official... Ah!"

Luo Hu lunged directly at Vice Minister Liu and smashed his head into him with savage force.

Vice Minister Liu was merely a civil official, and an aged one at that. His skull burst open on the spot, splattering the surrounding civil and military officials with brains.

The jailers on duty hurried in and pulled Luo Hu away. After teaching him a lesson with fists and kicks, they moved him to yet another cell.

Not long afterward.

With a bang from the cell, Luo Hu smashed his head against the wall and killed himself.