The "good-natured" Jailer Xu had brought Xu Qian plenty of convenience. Most useful of all, he'd become an "information station" with its doors wide open. The prisoners thought he wasn't a gossip and was a decent man, so occasionally sharing prison gossip and secrets with him could ease their boredom and count as a subtle way of currying favor.
Xu Qian never turned anyone away. Whether the information was useful or not, he first filed it away in his little notebook—his brain. These scattered bits of information were like puzzle pieces; sometimes, without meaning to, they came together to form an interesting picture.
That day, after delivering food to the last few cells in Block E, Xu Qian was about to leave when the skinny merchant in Cell E-57—locked up for smuggling salt—clutched the bars and beckoned to him with a furtive wave.
"Jailer Xu, Jailer Xu!" The merchant's voice was barely above a whisper, and his eyes darted about.
Xu Qian stopped. His face settled into its usual expression, a mix of helplessness and curiosity. "Wang Laowu, what is it this time? Had too much salt and got parched?" (He knew the merchant's surname was Wang and that he was fifth among his siblings, so the prisoners all called him Wang Laowu.)
Wang Laowu ignored Xu Qian's teasing. He glanced around and, after making sure no other jailers were paying attention, whispered, "Jailer Xu, I've got something to tell you. You... you hear it and pretend you never did, all right? Don't tell anyone!"
Xu Qian's heart stirred, but he kept his expression unchanged. "What is it? Why so mysterious?"
"I... I think I heard..." Wang Laowu swallowed. Fear and excitement mingled on his face. "Someone... someone's plotting... that!"
He made a gesture of climbing upward, then glanced toward the exit of the Heavenly Prison.
Xu Qian's pupils contracted. That? An escape?!
He let surprise and a trace of alarm show on his face. "Wang Laowu! You can't go around saying things like that! It could cost you your head!"
"I know! I know!" Wang Laowu waved both hands repeatedly, lowering his voice even further. "I only overheard those two bastards next door muttering... Seems like... seems like it'll be in the next few days! They... they might've gotten their hands on some tools, and... and maybe bought someone off..."
Xu Qian's heart sank. He believed Wang Laowu wouldn't dare joke about something like this, and the merchant had always been well-informed. It seemed there really were prisoners plotting an escape, and they might already be at a critical stage!
"Who, exactly? When? Who did they bribe?" Xu Qian pressed, his tone serious.
"I... I don't know that much." Wang Laowu hunched his shoulders. "Those two bastards are sharp as needles. They just said things were tense lately and told us to keep our heads down, so we wouldn't get dragged into it... Jailer Xu, I'm only warning you because you're a good man. You... you be careful, especially when you're on night duty... Keep your distance..."
After saying that, Wang Laowu scurried back into the depths of his cell like a startled rabbit, not daring to say another word.
Xu Qian stood rooted to the spot, his brow furrowed. The fingers gripping his empty bucket had gone faintly white with tension.
An escape!
This was the most sensitive and dangerous thing that could happen in the Heavenly Prison! If it happened, it would unleash a storm! The higher-ups would surely investigate, and everyone involved would be implicated! As a jailer on duty, he would never escape blame!
What should I do?
His first thought was—to report it immediately!
Tell Zhou Kang, or go straight to someone higher up. Snuffing out the danger before it could take root was the "safest" option and would keep him from getting dragged into it as much as possible.
But... then what?
Never mind whether Wang Laowu's information was completely accurate. Even if it was, Xu Qian had no proof. How much would Zhou Kang believe him? Would an investigation tip off the escape plotters? If those desperate men were cornered, might they lash out like trapped beasts? Would they hold a grudge against the "snitch," or even take revenge?
More importantly—what would he get out of reporting it? A word of praise? A little reward money? Neither held any appeal for him. Instead, he'd ruin the "good-natured" image he'd worked so hard to cultivate, and never hear another useful bit of information from the prisoners again.
More trouble than it's worth... Xu Qian quickly dismissed the idea of reporting it.
Then, should he pretend he knew nothing?
That might work too. When the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up. He was just a lowly jailer; he only had to guard his own little patch. If something really happened, as long as he wasn't there at the time—or acted "heroically"—he might be able to bluff his way through.
But that was far too passive! Entrusting his safety to luck and other people's stupidity didn't fit his principle of "playing it safe."
Perhaps... I could look at this another way?
A daring thought came to him—watch and wait, or even... give things a little push?
Of course, not by helping them escape, but by using this opportunity to "fish"!
Now that he knew someone was plotting something, the exact date was unclear, but it had to be sometime in the next few days. That meant he could make preparations in advance.
For example, he could figure out which prisoners might be involved. Taking Wang Laowu's hints together with the other scraps of information, it wouldn't be difficult to make an educated guess.
For example, he could keep a close eye on whoever they might have bought off—the rotten apple among the jailers.
For example, he could plan out a "safe spot" and an escape route for his shifts in advance.
Before you continue