Escape from Prison (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"His comprehension truly is far from ordinary..."

"It took me a full hour of cultivation to completely master this technique, yet he used far less time than I did."

Chang Ji was inwardly astonished.

When he had voluntarily handed over this technique, he had also intended to test Xu Xing's talent.

Having now witnessed Xu Xing go from beginner to mastering the "Face-Changing Technique" in no more than a quarter of an hour, he became even more convinced of his own thoughts—that Xu Xing was a "great scholar" who had grasped the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

If Xu Xing knew what Chang Ji was thinking, he would surely find it both laughable and absurd.

With the white Fate [Literary Brilliance] bolstering him, his comprehension was indeed quite good, but not to the point where he could master the "Face-Changing Technique" in a quarter of an hour.

There were two reasons he had been able to master the "Face-Changing Technique" so quickly.

First was the difference in the flow of time between the real world and the instance world.

Second, he had already broken through to the Truth-Preserving Realm in the instance world. Though his control over true qi had not yet reached the practiced stage of wielding it as freely as his own limbs, he undoubtedly had far more experience than an internal martial artist who had only just entered the Truth-Preserving Realm...

"Lord Xu..."

"When will Four Brightness Mountain rescue us?"

Seeing Xu Xing finish his cultivation, Chang Ji could not wait to ask.

Having been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison for nearly three years, he had spent the first year or two hoping that the emperor would issue an edict of mercy, grant him a general pardon and release him from the Imperial Prison, allowing him to atone for his crimes through meritorious service—or at least demote him. But as his confinement dragged on, his heart grew colder and colder. He no longer hoped for mercy from the court. Now, he only wanted to escape the Imperial Prison and take revenge on the Chongming Emperor.

Four Brightness Mountain was his last lifeline.

"Most likely within the next few days."

"Wait a little longer..."

Xu Xing guessed.

He could not be certain when Four Brightness Mountain would come to rescue them either.

However, he had noticed that the Imperial Prison guards had suddenly become much more lavish lately. They drank only Pear Blossom Brew from Prosperous Cloud Tower, and their meals had gained several more meat dishes than before...

It was as if they had come into a windfall.

From a single leaf, one knows autumn; from one spot, one glimpses the whole leopard.

If nothing unexpected happened, the rebels of Four Brightness Mountain... no, the brothers, had recently been bribing these prison guards.

"I'll listen to Lord Xu."

Chang Ji nodded.

After their conversation, the two continued behaving as they usually did, sleeping soundly in the Imperial Prison.

They let the passing prison guards lower their guard against them.

The next day.

"My lord..."

"Xu Xing has relented."

"He said he can hand over the crucial secret formula for making glass, but... he has three conditions. They are..."

Inside the study of the Han residence.

Zhao Yunniang knelt on the floor, her eyes lowered in a meek, obedient posture. "First, the child born must take his surname, Xu. Second, give this servant woman five hundred taels of silver and a residence in Jiangnan. The money and property must be placed under the unborn child's name. Third... this servant woman must remain chaste for him until she dies of old age."

She slowly laid out the conditions Xu Xing had proposed.

As she spoke, her voice could not help taking on a trace of choking sobs and tears.

"Just these conditions?"

"Nothing else?"

Behind the desk, Han Sui reclined in a straight-backed chair. After hearing Zhao Yunniang's account, he was somewhat surprised.

These conditions...

Aside from the second, which required spending some silver...

The other two did not require him to pay any price at all.

And though five hundred taels of silver and a residence in Jiangnan appeared valuable, to someone of his status as Grand Master of the Imperial Stud, they were truly cheap.

Compared to the enormous profits from firing glass, this bit of wealth was merely a hair from nine oxen.

"Clever..."

"He's a clever man."

After understanding Xu Xing's three conditions, Han Sui clicked his tongue in admiration.

If Xu Xing had failed to know his limits and made demands that were too excessive...

He might truly have reneged afterward!

The three conditions Xu Xing had proposed now did make Han Sui feel a pang of pain, but the price he had to pay was still far from enough to make him forsake his reputation over it...

What people did, Heaven watched.

There was no wall in this world that did not let the wind through.

When the rabbit died, the fox grieved!

Xu Xing, he himself, and the officials in his faction were all officials. Their ranks might differ, but if he went too far, what would those in his faction think of him in the future?

Even in factional struggles and the purging of rivals, one would not drive matters to the absolute end, but leave the defeated some measure of dignity.

What was more, Xu Xing had once been his subordinate and fellow official!

Not everyone was Sima Yi.

"Tell Xu Xing..."

"I accept his three conditions."

"And I'll raise the silver gift to one thousand taels!"

With a grand sweep of his hand, Han Sui wrote Xu Xing a personal letter and stamped it with his private seal.

With this letter...

If he went back on his word in the future, he would surely be scorned by the world afterward.

His stench would linger for ten thousand years!

That night.

After a night of passion with Zhao Yunniang.

Xu Xing read the letter, handed it to Zhao Yunniang, and sighed. "Lord Han is a good man. Tomorrow, once you give the secret formula to Lord Han, leave the Divine Capital immediately. Don't look back. Go as far away as you can."

"Lord Han may not kill you, but Lord Han's enemies will not let you go."

"This is a fine chance to bring down Lord Han. They will not give it up."

He did not intend to tell Zhao Yunniang that Four Brightness Mountain would come to his rescue.

You could know a man's face, but not his heart.

It was better to keep a guard up in all things.

If it succeeded, it would not be too late to tell Zhao Yunniang then. If it failed, telling her or not would make little difference. In any case, he would no longer be in this world.

As for others hunting Zhao Yunniang...

He believed that, with Han Sui's shrewdness, he must have prepared a safeguard long ago.

"Husband..."

"This servant-wife will remain chaste for you."

Zhao Yunniang nestled against Xu Xing's chest, tears shimmering in her eyes.

Although one of the three conditions Xu Xing had laid before Han Sui was that she remain chaste until her death of old age, anyone with eyes could see that a mere written agreement could hardly restrain her chastity.

Thus, this condition was more a plan Xu Xing had made for her future.

In ancient times, remaining chaste for one man also meant... being able to inherit that person's political legacy. Xu Xing had little political legacy to speak of, but these words would allow Han Sui to grant her more favorable treatment...

"I believe you."

Xu Xing stroked Zhao Yunniang's delicate head in comfort.

[Righteous Thief (Crimson): In performing righteous deeds, one is like an arm-raised mantis; favored by great fortune. When facing threats from the imperial court, there is a certain chance of turning ill fortune into good!]

One shichen before breaking out of prison.

Xu Xing once again examined his [Righteous Thief] fate.

In escaping the imperial prison, if any link revealed a flaw, death would be his end. With Magistrate Tian's "tip-off," followed by the complete operation carried out by him and King Kun, they had done their utmost to "do all that man could."

Now..., they could only obey Heaven's will!

Time slowly passed.

Xu Xing and Chang Ji were burning with anxiety, yet had no choice but to pretend to be calm and composed.

Before long.

"Old Li" pushed over a one-man cart for dumping night soil.

In an instant, the Ding-section prison reeked to high heaven.

"Hurry up, my lords!"

"Don't miss the hour..."

"Old Li" urged them.

Xu Xing and Chang Ji exchanged a glance. They pulled two corpses from the wooden cart, dressed them in their prison clothes, stuffed them onto the straw piles to make it look as though they were sleeping soundly, then hid one after the other in the inner compartment of the night-soil cart.

"Old Li, why do you look... different today?"

Just after they left the Ding-section prison, Commandant Deng came to inspect the cells. Seeing that Old Li looked somewhat different from usual, he became slightly suspicious.