Shocked Xiao Fenghua

"What? Eldest Sister, I..." Xiao Sheng was stunned and quickly tried to explain.

"What is the status of President Du Jun?"

Xiao Fenghua's tone turned cold, "He is a transcendent figure whom even Grandfather shows respect to. He lives in seclusion year-round, a dragon that shows its head but not its tail.

Why would he personally come to this filthy Heavenly Prison to visit a convicted criminal sentenced to fifty years, an abandoned son of the Marquis Estate?

And why would he treat him as an equal, calling him brother?"

She shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with even greater disappointment:

"Xiao Sheng, if you're going to lie, at least make it a believable one.

Do you think Father King and I are so easily fooled that you can deceive the Prince's Estate with such an easily exposed lie?

I think you've been in this Heavenly Prison too long and have lost all sense of proportion, indulging in wishful thinking."

Xiao Fenghua didn't believe him at all.

In her opinion, this was entirely a fabrication by her incompetent younger brother, Xiao Sheng, a sensational "miracle encounter" created to escape confinement sooner or to gain the attention of the Prince's Estate.

President Du, the mysterious prisoner – it was all just his trick to avoid punishment and attract attention.

As for the claim that the prisoner could produce Bodhi Pills, it was even more absurd. She suspected Xiao Sheng had embellished the story to make his "lie" more credible.

Xiao Sheng was stunned by his eldest sister's harsh scolding, his face flushing red with anxiety. "Eldest Sister, I really didn't lie to you. If you don't believe me, ask Lüyī, Fěndài, and everyone else here. They saw it too."

"Silence."

Xiao Fenghua shouted sternly, a natural aura of authority emanating from her position, choking the words in Xiao Sheng's throat.

"...Your maids will naturally side with you.

Furthermore, who in the Heavenly Prison dares to defy the might of my imperial family? If you ask them to lie, how could they refuse?"

Xiao Fenghua spoke with certainty, convinced that this was all a farce staged by Xiao Sheng, and Zhang Yu was merely an insignificant "prop" forced to cooperate.

She couldn't even be bothered to glance at Zhang Yu again, feeling that it would be a waste of her time.

Zhang Yu, on the other hand, appeared indifferent. He closed his eyes to rest, adhering to the principle of "survive if you can, don't stand out, don't be ostentatious." He paid no mind to Xiao Fenghua's accusations and disdain.

The surrounding prisoners, swayed by Xiao Fenghua's powerful presence and "reasonable" analysis, began to doubt as well:

"That's right, it's normal for the Heir Apparent to make up a story to get out..."

"What kind of person is President Du? Why would he come to a place like this?"

"Maybe it really was a staged act..."

However, just as these doubts began to arise, and Xiao Fenghua was about to turn and leave, with Xiao Sheng hopping with anxiety but helpless –

Hummm...

A faint, strange humming sound suddenly echoed throughout the Heavenly Prison area.

The fluctuation was extremely subtle, like the finest ripple. Without mastery of formations, it would be impossible to detect.

The cells remained the same, the lights the same, even the airflow seemed unchanged.

But Xiao Fenghua, the heavenly daughter who cultivated the Jing Prince's Estate's secret art, the Bright Phoenix Heart Sutra, and also practiced formations, instantly caught this anomaly.

More importantly, she wore the Jin Prince's Estate's secret treasure, the Eye of Delusion, which could, to a certain extent, see through illusions and enchantments.

Her footsteps abruptly stopped. A sharp glint flashed in her phoenix eyes as she fixed her gaze on the source of the fluctuation – Zhang Yu's cell.

Zhang Yu, still sitting cross-legged, kept his eyes closed, his expression calm.

But the air in front of him began to distort and ripple like water, in a way that was difficult for the naked eye to perceive, yet undeniably real.

Immediately after, under Xiao Fenghua's horrified gaze, a disheveled old man brazenly walked into the Heavenly Prison and approached Zhang Yu.

The old man was slightly stooped, wearing a dusty, oil-stained old robe. His hair was gray and messy, and he seemed to be carrying a... wine gourd.

Strangely, apart from Xiao Fenghua, no one else present noticed, or even saw, the old man.

If Xiao Fenghua hadn't practiced formations and worn the Eye of Delusion, she wouldn't have seen him either.

This old man had, during a gap in the Heavenly Prison's defensive formation, silently embedded an extremely high-level illusion formation, perfectly "hiding" himself and deceiving everyone's senses and sight.

Such a method was simply astonishing.

What shook Xiao Fenghua's heart even more was that Zhang Yu inside the cell didn't seem surprised by the old man's arrival.

As the old man reached him, he slowly opened his eyes.

That disheveled old man was none other than Chen Dongpeng.

He took a swig of wine, smacked his lips, and grumbled somewhat resentfully, "As expected of a heavily guarded place like the Heavenly Prison, this turtle shell is quite tough. It took me almost fifteen minutes to silently embed the illusion formation. Exhausting."

His tone was casual, as if he were commenting on the weather, but his words made Xiao Fenghua's heart pound.

Fifteen minutes?

Infiltrating the Heavenly Prison's formation silently?

Without triggering any alarms?

Was this... something a human could do?!

Zhang Yu was not surprised by Chen Dongpeng's arrival, as if he had expected it. "Stop showing off. You're here to say goodbye, aren't you?"