Mr. Du

Not long after, another visitor arrived at the Heavenly Prison.

The jailer led three people over, with Li Dagang at the front, along with Mo Zhai.

Another person followed behind the two, wrapped entirely in a black robe, their face hidden.

The jailer had clearly received another bribe, respectfully opening the small visiting window before stepping aside.

No sooner had the jailer left than a seven-inch-long shoehorn flew through the air, thrown by Zhang Yu.

"You still have the nerve to come see me?"

"Do you know I nearly lost my honor?"

Zhang Yu was fuming with rage.

Thinking about how he had almost been robbed of his chastity by the men Li Dagang had sent, he wanted nothing more than to strangle this unreliable bastard.

Li Dagang nimbly dodged the stinking shoehorn, his face full of grievance: "Boss... boss, it was an accident, a pure accident!"

His voice carried a sob, clearly having already heard about that thrilling farce.

The men he'd found had nearly... done that to their own boss.

Mo Zhai stepped forward as well, immediately throwing his teammate under the bus with a grin: "Boss, the man was Old Li's pick. I think he should atone by taking his own life."

"Surname Mo, you're kicking a man when he's down."

Li Dagang was furious, dragging Mo Zhai down with him: "Boss, this isn't entirely my fault. The idea was Mo Zhai's!"

He used the tactic of shifting the blame without hesitation.

The gloating on Mo Zhai's face instantly froze. He glared at Li Dagang:

"Hey, Old Li!

You can't sell out your teammate like that. I gave a suggestion, but the actual execution, finding the guy, verifying his background—wasn't that all you?

You didn't vet him properly and brought in a lunatic, and now you want to drag me down with you?"

"You said to find someone fierce!" Li Dagang argued stubbornly.

"I said find someone fierce, not a madman who likes brotherly love!" Mo Zhai continued to pass the buck.

"Then you didn't warn me not to find someone like that."

"Do I really need to spell that out?"

The two of them actually started bickering in low voices right outside the cell, in front of Zhang Yu, each shifting the blame to the other.

Zhang Yu watched his pair of "geniuses" and was left speechless.

The anger in his heart had dissipated quite a bit from their antics, but he still had to save face.

"Both of you, shut up!" he barked.

Li Dagang and Mo Zhai immediately fell silent, standing at attention with their hands at their sides.

Zhang Yu swept a cold gaze over them: "One came up with a lousy idea, the other botched the execution. Neither of you is off the hook."

Li Dagang and Mo Zhai quickly bowed their heads in acknowledgment, knowing punishment was unavoidable, but seeing their boss's tone soften a little, they felt somewhat relieved.

"Brother Zhang's two subordinates are quite amusing, though a pity their cultivation is a bit lacking."

The man in the black robe chuckled, suddenly speaking.

Zhang Yu turned to look, seemingly unsurprised, and gave a slight nod to the black-robed man: "My men are inexperienced. I hope Mr. Du won't laugh at them."

"Not at all, not at all."

The black-robed man—Mr. Du—chuckled, his tone relaxed:

"I rather envy you, young friend.

The useless lot under me, when they see me, they're terrified into silence. Respectful, yes, but rigid and dull. Nowhere near as lively as your place."

As he spoke, he seemed completely unfazed by the heavily guarded, oppressive atmosphere of the Heavenly Prison, his tone as casual as if chatting in a teahouse.

Over the past three years, Zhang Yu had used various god-level skills rewarded by the system to befriend big shots from all sides. Mr. Du was one of them, and a very influential one at that.

Zhang Yu didn't pick up on the "lively" comment. Instead, he asked directly: "Mr. Du, you're a busy man. For you to come in person, is there something important?"

"Not really important."

Mr. Du waved a hand casually. "I just happened to hear that you, young friend, had run into some trouble and ended up in this prison. I thought, since it's been a while, I'd drop by and see."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of concern: "Young friend, are you... getting used to this prison?

If not, or if you find this place too filthy and vile, I could spare a few words and have a chat with the current Emperor of Wei.

I could have him issue an imperial decree today to release you from this place."

Mr. Du said this as if springing a major criminal from the heavily guarded Ministry of Justice Heavenly Prison was as easy as buying a cabbage at the market—just a "few words" with the Emperor would do.

The moment he finished speaking, not only Li Dagang and Mo Zhai were stunned, but even the nearby guards and prisoners who had been eavesdropping wore expressions of disbelief and contempt.

"Pfft—"

A prisoner nearby, his face covered in scars, couldn't help but snicker.

"Where'd this lunatic crawl out from?"

"Have a word with the Emperor?"

"And get released today?"

"Dream on, you old bastard!"

"That's right—cases settled by the Ministry of Justice Heavenly Prison and the Court of Judicial Review aren't some joke!"

"This old codger must have lost his mind!"

Another prisoner chimed in quietly.

"I reckon he's so desperate to spring someone he's spouting nonsense to fool that Young Master Zhang!"

The jailers didn't dare gossip loudly, but their glances at the black-robed Mr. Du were full of contempt and wariness. They figured the man was either a con artist or a madman, and they'd better watch out in case he tried to break someone out.

Meanwhile, in the cell diagonally across, Xiao Sheng, the Heir of Prince Jing, who had been watching the show all along, set down his wine gourd, a look of keen interest spreading across his face.