Even If Your Father Pressed Me Down, You Still Wouldn't Be Qualified!

Wang Youan, his huge belly protruding, swayed with every step as he led Fang Mo into the bottomless entrance of the Heavenly Prison.

A fist-sized Luminous Pearl was embedded in the walls lining either side of the passage every ten paces, casting a faint, icy glow that revealed the mottled bloodstains and moss on the walls with perfect clarity.

Jailers just coming off duty walked out in twos and threes. Upon seeing Wang Youan, they all stopped and bowed.

"Chief Wang!"

"Chief Wang, have you eaten?"

"Chief Wang, you're looking well today!"

Wang Youan merely grunted through his nostrils or nodded with drooping eyelids, and that counted as a response.

Following behind him, Fang Mo clicked his tongue inwardly. This fatty held an even higher position in the Heavenly Prison than he had imagined.

"Kid, stay close." Without looking back, Wang Youan's voice echoed through the empty passage. "This Heavenly Prison isn't like the outside world. You'd better memorize the routes. One careless wrong turn, and don't blame Uncle here for not saving you—even King Yama won't be able to find your soul."

His finger tapped the ancient characters carved into the wall at the fork in the road.

"Our Heavenly Prison has stood for so long that its age can no longer be traced. The cells are arranged according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui."

"Your Uncle Wang is the warden of Cell Block C, Room 9. The prisoners held in cells ranked near the front are all beneath the fifth realm of martial cultivation. They're fairly manageable."

Fang Mo listened in silence, but the abacus in his heart clattered away.

Below the fifth realm? Didn't that mean there were prisoners above the fifth realm as well?

This Heavenly Prison truly was an enormous treasure vault!

Wang Youan paused and glanced back at Fang Mo.

"Yesterday, I saw that your vitality and blood were like lead and mercury. You've stepped into martial cultivation, too. Good. That saves me quite a bit of trouble."

"Our jailers clean the cells and deliver meals to the prisoners every day. The work isn't hard, but it wears you down."

Wang Youan's tone turned grave.

"You're a clever kid, so I need to give you one more warning. No matter what those prisoners say to you, don't listen, don't answer, and don't get curious. Treat yourself as deaf and mute. Only then can you live a little longer in this Ghost Place."

"These are things your father should have taught you. Now that your father is gone, it can only fall to me, your uncle, to teach you."

Warmth rose in Fang Mo's heart, though his face wore an expression of overwhelming gratitude as he quickly bowed.

"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Wang. Your nephew has remembered it all."

"Enough with that empty nonsense." Wang Youan waved him off impatiently. "I just hate trouble. Remember this, kid: safety comes first in all things!"

"Got it, Uncle Wang!"

As they spoke, the two arrived at a huge Stone Chamber blazing with light.

It seemed to be where the jailers rested. Several rough wooden tables stood in the center, where a few men in their thirties and forties sat together, drinking heavily over small dishes of peanuts and playing a finger-guessing game amid great merriment.

"Chief Wang is here!"

Someone shouted, and the previously boisterous Stone Chamber fell silent in an instant.

Everyone rose to their feet and crowded over with fawning expressions.

"Your underlings pay their respects to Chief Wang!"

"Get lost, all of you. Go do whatever you should be doing." Wang Youan waved a hand as though chasing away Flies.

He pointed at Fang Mo behind him and said to the others, "Let me introduce him. This is Fang Mo, Fang Dashan's son. Starting today, he'll inherit his father's position."

His tiny eyes, squeezed into slits by fat, swept across everyone present. His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable weight.

"Keep your Eyes wide open! Remember how we got this bowl of rice. Every last one of you will have descendants who need to inherit your positions someday. I don't need to teach you what to do, do I?"

The jailers immediately put on expressions of complete understanding and thumped their chests in promise.

"Rest easy, Chief Wang! A colleague's descendants are just like our own nephews and nieces!"

"If Little Brother Fang needs anything in the future, just come find us!"

Only then did Wang Youan nod in satisfaction.

"Fine, keep playing."

He pointed at the most honest-looking man.

"Old Huang, you have the steadiest temperament. From now on, you'll be the one guiding this kid."

"Let me make this clear first: you only have a few years left before retirement. When your son comes, I'll have this kid guide him. As for how you teach him, you should know what to do."

The man called Old Huang thumped his chest until it boomed.

"Just watch, sir! I guarantee I'll teach Little Brother Fang everything clearly and thoroughly!"

Watching this harmonious scene, Fang Mo relaxed as well.

It seemed life in the Heavenly Prison might not be as difficult to endure as he had imagined.

He cupped his hands toward the crowd, his smile brilliant. "I hope all you uncles will look after me in the future."

Just then, an ill-timed voice came from the shadows of the Stone Chamber.

"Chief Wang."

At that moment, someone slowly stepped out from the shadows in the corner of the hall.

The man looked to be around thirty. His face was pale as paper, his frame thin and gaunt, and he wore an incongruously ornate brocade robe that stood starkly apart from the coarse prison uniforms worn by the surrounding jailers.

His narrow eyes were like a Poisonous Snake hidden in the grass. They swept over Fang Mo first, then fixed on Wang Youan with a blazing gaze.