Lost-Trace Forest (1/2)

It was done once again.

They sat there until the fourth watch, when every strange noise outside had ceased.

The head jailer stepped forward. "Please, Immortal Official, seal off their thoughts."

That was what he called it.

In practice, he wanted Xu Feng to seal their seven orifices.

Strips of yellow cloth bearing written words had been set aside.

Xu Feng stepped forward and covered their eyes, plugged their ears, and stopped their mouths.

He left only their nostrils open, though he wafted incense smoke through those as well.

All of this ensured that the last person they saw in the prison was Xu Feng, the "Prison-Warding Immortal Official."

Once that was done, they waited for the signal cannon outside.

When the cannon sounded,

the head jailer ordered the doors opened. The prisoners were escorted out one by one and loaded onto prison carts.

From that point on, they were no longer the jailers' concern. The sky was still pitch-black, but to every jailer there, it felt as though dawn had come!

The Baleful Aura had been sent away!

The head jailer turned back and signaled for a jailer to crack his whip. "The Immortal Official returns! The Immortal Official returns!"

As he called out, a jailer led the way, guiding Xu Feng through the prison once more and back to the statue.

Only then did Xu Feng remove his ceremonial trappings and the paint from his face.

The ritual was over.

Afterward, the head jailer came over smiling. Xu Feng was now free to leave whenever he wished.

Xu Feng respectfully offered incense to the "Prison God."

He did not dare underestimate him in the slightest.

By all rights,

Luoyin County's "Prison God" was but one aspect of "Lord Guan."

In other words, he was Lord Guan, but not