Jailer

Great Jin Dynasty.

A dark, damp, deep gorge beneath the jurisdiction of the Imperial City Department, blanketed in poisonous miasma.

Hundreds of iron chains as thick as bowls were driven into the mountainside below, connecting the two sides of the gorge.

On the sheer cliff stood a black building embedded in the mountainside, radiating a bleak, murderous air.

This was the Death Prison of the Imperial City Department, a place whose very name made people tremble.

Everyone imprisoned here had committed grave crimes and heinous offenses.

Today, a new batch of prisoners arrived at the Death Prison.

At the same time, a new batch of jailers arrived as well.

"I've got a permanent post!"

A young man in the line of jailers suddenly froze.

His eyes brimmed with tears, and joy spread across his face.

Ye Kang's heart was a jumble of emotions.

He had just transmigrated here.

In his previous life, he had been devoted to serving his country, but had never been given the chance. He'd spent ten years trying to pass the civil-service exam and had come up empty-handed.

Then, after failing for the tenth time, his blood surged in anger, and he died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.

He never imagined that his soul would cross over to this continent, making him one of the countless transmigrators.

The original owner of this body was also named Ye Kang. He had been an ordinary street patrol clerk, a contract worker whose monthly pay was a mere two qian.

But by a twist of fate, he had caught the eye of the Imperial City Department and been seconded to the Death Prison as a jailer.

Ye Kang spent some time merging with the memories.

He also sorted out his current situation.

A street patrol clerk was a contract worker, but a jailer was different. This was a genuine royal appointment!

Not only would he enjoy the Imperial City Department's benefits for life, but his monthly pay was a full two taels of silver!

Ten times as much!

In his past life, he'd fought tooth and nail for a permanent post. Now, he'd transmigrated and gotten one right away!

The heavens had finally opened their eyes!

Ye Kang was overjoyed, but the Chief Clerk leading the group suddenly turned around.

"Silence! This is the Death Prison! Anyone who makes another sound will feel my blade!"

The Chief Clerk's left hand rested on his sword hilt, his face twisted with menace.

Ye Kang realized he'd been so happy that he'd lost control. He immediately shut his mouth.

He'd worked so hard to get this permanent post. This time, he absolutely couldn't let anything go wrong.

The Chief Clerk glared at him viciously, then turned back around.

"I'll remind you all again. Some of you came from the Imperial Army, some from the Xuanwei Camp, but no matter what your rank or position was before, here in the Death Prison you'll all start as jailers. Put your tempers away now!"

As soon as the Chief Clerk spoke, everyone behind him immediately agreed.

A few quick-witted ones had already moved a step away from Ye Kang.

This man had offended the Chief Clerk the moment he arrived. He didn't know the rules; best not to get involved with him.

Seeing this, Ye Kang felt a warm glow in his heart.

That's the stuff!

My beautiful life as a permanent employee, here I come!

The group followed the Chief Clerk into the Death Prison, completed the handover, changed into jailer uniforms, and buckled steel long swords to their waists. That was all it took to officially join the ranks.

Ye Kang weighed the sword in his hand. It was much heavier than the saber he'd been issued back when he patrolled the streets.

As expected, contract workers got nothing but junk.

You couldn't beat a proper permanent post!

Just as Ye Kang was filled with emotion, the Warden, who was assigning duties, suddenly looked his way.

"Xu Wenliang! Ye Kang!"

"Here!"

The Warden thought for a moment, then tossed them two copper plaques.

"You two were both street patrol clerks. Take these Patrol Orders and patrol the Yellow-grade cells."

Ye Kang caught the plaque and hurriedly acknowledged the order.

The Great Jin Dynasty was much like the ancient world of his previous life, where orders had to be obeyed without question. Neither man wasted words; they immediately began their patrol.

The Death Prison was divided into the Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow grades, with prisoners held according to their threat level.

Martial arts flourished in This World, and half the convicts had some martial skill.

Of course, the monsters locked up in the Heaven, Earth, and Black cells had nothing to do with a newcomer like Ye Kang. He wasn't worried about them.

Even so, most of the prisoners in the Yellow-grade cells were powerful.

Those who knew martial arts had all had their pipa bones pierced, but to prevent accidents, the Warden still strictly forbade any jailer from talking with a prisoner.

By the middle of the night, the patrol continued.

Ye Kang was bored and was just about to strike up a conversation with Xu Wenliang, who was beside him.

But Xu Wenliang wore a chilly expression. Before Ye Kang could say a word, he walked away and went to patrol somewhere else.

Ye Kang got a cold shoulder, but he didn't take offense.

As long as he had a permanent post, everything else was just a passing cloud.

But someone nearby had noticed the whole thing.

Inside a nearby cell, a burly monk toyed with the shackles on his feet, his face wearing a faintly amused smile.

"Official, there's no point. He won't talk to you."

Ye Kang frowned and kicked the cell door.

"What's it to you? Go to sleep!"

The Great Monk wasn't offended; he simply burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?"

Ye Kang furrowed his brows. For some reason, he felt that something was off.

The Great Monk shook his head.

"I'm laughing at you, official. You're at death's door and don't even know it. What a pity, what a pity."

The Great Monk groaned and sighed as he rolled over onto his side.

That infuriated Ye Kang.

It was his first day on the job, and someone was cursing him to die. He'd struggled through two lifetimes just to get a permanent post—did the monk have any idea how hard that was?

Just as he was about to curse back, a strange sound suddenly rang in his mind.

[ Ding ]

[ Congratulations, host. You have bound the Heaven-defying Comprehension System. Reward: 500 Comprehension ]

[ Host's current cultivation: Unranked ]

[ Quest issued: Stop tomorrow's Jailbreak incident ]

...

Ye Kang's mind cleared in an instant.

Sure enough, the system benefits had arrived!

But the first thing it did was hand him a huge quest!

A jailbreak?

Ye Kang wasn't a fool. The system's quests couldn't be wrong, which meant there would definitely be a jailbreak tomorrow.

Thinking of the Great Monk's nonsense just now, Ye Kang's face instantly paled.

Could this permanent post be a hot potato...

He immediately woke the Great Monk and forced him to explain everything.

The Great Monk didn't waste time. He laid out the whole story.

It turned out that several batches of new jailers arrived at the Death Prison every year, but without exception, every one of them died the next day, all of them killed during a jailbreak.

That was why the Great Monk had said Ye Kang was at death's door.

Now Ye Kang understood in an instant.

This was a thoroughgoing conspiracy!

They'd brought in a bunch of newcomers and let people stage a jailbreak. They were all rookies anyway, so who cared if they died?

And the people they wanted to rescue...

Ye Kang thought of the few prisoners who had arrived with him. They were probably the reason.

Ye Kang clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.

This was too much!

They'd used a permanent post as bait and treated him like a pawn to be discarded!

He'd been so happy, and now it turned out the post he'd dreamed of was a death warrant!

No!

In this life, no one was taking his permanent post away!

Thinking of the Comprehension the system had given him, Ye Kang asked in his mind,

"System, how do I use Comprehension?"

[ Ding! Consume Comprehension to automatically master any martial art ]

So that was how it worked!

Ye Kang looked into the cell.

"Great Monk, how strong are you?"

The Great Monk puffed out his chest proudly.

"I'm a true Second-rate expert. Official, if you let me out, not a single person who comes to break into the prison tomorrow will get away."

That was the Great Monk's real plan. He wanted to use this chance to escape, too.

"Can you beat the ones who break out?"

Ye Kang looked at the Great Monk skeptically.

The Great Monk snorted.

"What would I gain by lying to you? Those few new prisoners are just as unranked as you. The strongest person coming to save them will be a Third-rate expert at most. I've cultivated a body full of Vajra Fury Intent. I'll make sure they never leave!"

"Excellent."

Ye Kang nodded.

The Great Monk's heart leapt with joy, thinking Ye Kang had fallen for it.

As soon as he let him out, he'd kill his way out of here. Who cared about the jailbreak?

But Ye Kang didn't let him out.

Instead, he walked straight over to the rack of Instruments of Torture, then turned back with a cold smile.

"What kind of game do you like?"