Eerie Demon

The three of them stepped out of the room, and before they even left the courtyard, the Night Guard who weren't patrolling the streets swarmed around them.

"Captain Li, is what happened yesterday true?"

"You're absolutely amazing!"

"I heard from the guys handling the case that Daren Wei's face turned green?"

"What exactly happened? Some say you used your Fate Arts to predict it, some say you instigated the two of them, and others say that Daren Wei had a fondness for gifting nests and did it on purpose, but you exposed him."

"The entire Night Guard Yamen is in an uproar, everyone's talking about it. I've been waiting for you at the gate for ages, and I even took sick leave to skip my patrol just to hear a word from you."

Li Qingxian said earnestly, "You all don't know how to serve the Emperor, you only know how to make unfounded accusations. Daren Wei and Madam Wei are both victims; it was Tao Zhi used drugs on them. As for anything else, I really don't know."

Seeing Li Qingxian's serious expression, everyone immediately understood, burst into laughter, and left.

We believe it.

"Just listen to it the other way around..."

Li Qingxian shook his head and said, "People's hearts are not what they used to be. They don't care about cultivation or reading, so why are they so concerned about matters of the bedchamber?"

Yu Ping said, "Yesterday when you rushed into the house, you were right behind Daren Wei, the first one to dart inside."

"I was protecting a prisoner! Let's go!"

The Night Guard Yamen occupied a vast area, with the Imperial Prison Bureau located in the northwest corner. It took about fifteen minutes to walk before the side gate of the Imperial Prison Bureau could be seen in the distance.

A dark blue wall stood tall, its top covered with rusty spikes. Within a dozen feet of the wall, the ground was flat with no flowers, grass, or trees in sight.

Inside the wall, rows of watchtowers, built of stacked stones and timber, rose above the wall, with soldiers on top looking around, ready for battle.

On either side of the side gate, there was a bronze Great Xiezhi, each over a meter tall and resembling a dark blue-green qilin, with a single black horn on its head, its body covered in fine scales, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, and its dark eyes gleaming faintly in the sunlight.

Li Qingxian whispered, "These two Great Xiezhi, are they magical artifacts?"

"These are special magical artifacts made by the imperial court to guard the gate. It is said that each one is capable of defeating an ordinary Third Rank master. There are eight of them in total around this Imperial Prison," Han Anbo said.

"I wish I had one following me."

"This thing is priceless."

As Li Qingxian approached the door, he sensed the Great Xiezhi's eyes moving and it raised its badge as a clerk in the Imperial Prison Bureau.

The soldier standing at the gate first glanced at Han Anbo, then looked Li Qingxian up and down, cupped his hands in greeting, and smiled, "This handsome Daren looks unfamiliar. What brings you to the Imperial Prison Bureau?"

Li Qingxian smiled and said, "I am Li Qingxian of the Divine Capital Office. I am here to carry out my duties in the Imperial Prison on the orders of Zhou Chunfeng, the head of the Divine Capital Office and concurrently the chief of the Imperial Prison Bureau Imperial Prison."

"So this is Daren's order. Please."

The two guards exchanged a glance, a strange smile on their faces, and hurriedly stepped aside.

"Thank you, brothers." Li Qingxian smiled, stepped up the steps, entered the door, walked down the steps, and stopped, looking at the layers of houses and buildings in front of him.

Under the midday sun, the black stones, black roads, black steps, black walls, black tiles, and black eaves are all visible.

Looking around, the buildings here have a unique beauty, yet they also possess a gloomy atmosphere that even the sun cannot dispel.

"Brother Han, lead the way."

Han Anbo stepped forward, saying as he walked, "It seems this is your first time here. The Imperial Prison Bureau is divided into east and west courtyards. The West Courtyard holds Upper Three Ranks experts and most Middle Three Ranks three-star experts or great Demon-Devil, while the East Courtyard holds ordinary people, lower-ranking Fourth Rank experts, or a few Middle Three Ranks. You must not go to the West Courtyard recklessly; there are too many experts there, and the power they exude is extremely strong. If an ordinary person goes there, they will inevitably fall ill within three days."

"I've heard of it. That place is one of the most eerie places in the entire capital, known as the Deviant Ward,' where, according to legend... Eerie Demon are imprisoned?" Li Qingxian said in a low voice.

Han Anbo was startled and whispered, "Don't use that term. We usually use 'that kind of monster' instead. That kind of monster is the most evil Monster in the world. It is said that the Demon Race used that kind of monster to force our Great Qi to retreat to the South Bank of the Great River, and we haven't been able to move north since. What's ridiculous is that the Demon Race also slanders us, saying that that kind of Monster was created by Human Race."

Li Qingxian nodded.

Han Anbo continued, "The guard said that the Daren are waiting for you in Room B. Room A is just ahead; it's past there."

"Brother Han, you didn't work in the Imperial Prison Bureau before, did you?"

"I never worked in the West Courtyard, but I worked in the East Courtyard for half a year."

Li Qingxian said, "We've all been working here for a while now, so tell me briefly."

Han Anbo said, "Alright. The Imperial Prison Bureau is the most important place for the Night Guard. There are only two places in the Divine Capital that can imprison those of the Upper Three Ranks: one is the Ministry of Justice Heavenly Prison, and the other is our Night Guard's Imperial Prison. However, the Ministry of Justice Heavenly Prison mainly imprisons Human Race, while the Imperial Prison contains all kinds of Demon-Devil. Precisely because the Imperial Prison is so important, the head of the Imperial Prison Bureau has always been a master of the Upper Three Ranks."

"Rich and powerful, right? The second-in-command of the Night Guard, the Left Commander of the Subordinate Third Rank, and concurrently the Director of the Imperial Prison Bureau," Li Qingxian said.

"It's Daren Zhang Fugui," Han Anbo said helplessly.

Li Qingxian laughed and said, "Anyway, that's what everyone calls them in private, so what's there to be afraid of? They're just the Night Guard's Three Treasures: the Cowardly Coward King, the Shameless Zhang Fugui, and the Useless Mouthless Yang."

Han Anbo smiled wryly and said, "That's just idle talk among the Daren. To us, those who can sit in that position are no ordinary people and should not be underestimated."

"Don't worry, Brother Han. I know what I'm doing. The Night Guard's Three Treasures are all Third Rank, there are no weaklings among them. Besides, the more we call them that, the more at ease they'll feel," Li Qingxian said.

"However, I heard that the Coward King has already been promoted to the Second Rank, but he is afraid of being targeted, so he has been pretending to be Third Rank," Han Anbo said.

"That's like the style of Coward King," Li Qingxian said.

"I think so too," Yu Ping said, looking around. "I heard that the prison food in the Imperial Prison is excellent, especially for the high-ranking prisoners."

Li Qingxian rolled his eyes at Yu Ping and said, "You're really something, even thinking about prison food."

"Trying it won't break the law."

"You... make a good point."

The three chatted casually as they arrived at the East Courtyard, specifically the "Yi" room area.

Rows of houses stood neatly in front of us.

People were coming and going on the east side, seemingly transporting something.

On the west side, a group of ten prisoners dressed in ochre-colored coarse linen clothes were chained together and shackled, squatting in a corner to get some fresh air and sunbathe.

These people were disheveled, covered in grass and leaves.

Li Qingxian glanced at it, then suddenly stopped.

The nearby jailer reached for the hilt of his knife, glanced at Li Qingxian's waist tag and clothing, then at Han Anbo, before letting go.

"Brother Han, are you here on business at the Imperial Prison Bureau? And this Daren is...?" A middle-aged prison guard with dark circles under his eyes and a lean build greeted him with a smile. The white horse-patterned badge on his chest was the same as Li Qingxian's, but his clothes were dark and stained.

Han Anbo cupped his hands and said, "Lord Daren, we are here on the orders of Divine Capital Office of the Daren. This is Daren Li Qingxian."

The jailer behind Fan Xing looked at him strangely, then glanced at one of the prisoners.

"Oh dear, I was so blind to your greatness! It's Daren Li! My apologies!" Fan Xing clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed slightly, and took the initiative to greet Li Qingxian.