The two walked through the passage, chatting as they went.
Though Nameless seemed relaxed, he devoted only a sliver of his attention to chatting with Tianxing Mingyue. The rest remained focused on their surroundings.
When they reached the far end of the passage, both fell silent.
Rows of prisoners in all shapes and forms knelt along either side. Their hands were pressed together and their heads bowed. The passage had never been especially wide, and with the prisoners there, it was barely wide enough for two people to walk abreast.
"My lord, be careful. He's the prisoner from cell 003—the Ripper King!" Tianxing Mingyue warned after watching for a while.
Nameless frowned. "The Ripper King?"
"Yes. His real name was Bald Wang. He was originally a butcher, but later joined a rebel army. Fearless in battle, he was promoted by its leader to the rank of Left-Hand Heavenly King. What he loved most was hacking captured enemies into eight pieces, and in time, people began calling him the Man-Rending Demon King.
"Eventually, the imperial court of that world crushed the rebellion. For his many crimes, Bald Wang was torn apart by five horses.
"After his death, pieces of his corpse were hung in various places as a warning. When they were finally taken down, they were divided among the victims' families. That was when things went wrong.
"For all Bald Wang's atrocities, he was no mindless brute. He treated his own men remarkably well, giving them most of the money he seized. When one soldier's elderly mother died, he even helped carry her coffin himself, showing his subordinate every respect.
"As it happened, one of his soldiers lived in the city—and Bald Wang had done him a great kindness," Tianxing Mingyue recounted.
Nameless could not help guessing. "Did the soldier