What Are You?

Only after the group descended from the second level did the icy atmosphere on the first gradually dissipate. The handful of jailers scattered again, their hushed conversations occasionally drifting through the air.

"Uncle Wang, do people from our Heavenly Prison really have to go out and arrest criminals themselves?"

"Normally, no, but... there are always exceptions."

Uncle Wang had spent his entire life as a jailer in the Heavenly Prison. Whatever else he might lack, he considered himself pretty capable when it came to gathering information.

"Great Yan was founded over seven hundred years ago. Those nobles at the top have long since grown roots and tangled their branches together. Some people are hard for the provincial and prefectural authorities to arrest, and some they wouldn't dare arrest."

"Then there are those cultivation sects. Haven't you noticed the court's attitude toward them these past few years? Some people are precious to those sects, but thorns in the court's side. The officials have too many procedures to follow. By the time they act, even the daylilies have gone cold. So we handle certain things for them."

"And Skywave City is in Azure Province, right on the dynasty's border. Some demons... well, I won't get into that."

"After all, who doesn't know about our Prison Warden's relationship with His Majesty? In short, we arrest those the court doesn't dare arrest, and handle matters the court doesn't dare handle. That's the Heavenly Prison."

Having finished, Uncle Wang cast a leisurely glance at the engrossed Ye Wuyou, a smug smile curling his lips at successfully sharing some inside information.

Uncle Wang knew the Heavenly Prison's real secrets had nothing to do with a lowly jailer like him, but saying those words aloud felt damn good.

Ye Wuyou had gotten the gist. Unlike Uncle Wang, he felt no pride or honor in being a Heavenly Prison jailer. He merely thought the Great Thousand Dynasty's tangled web of connections was a complete mess. Sooner or later, trouble would arise.

But remembering what the system had said in his mind earlier, Ye Wuyou hesitated, then frowned and cautiously asked.

"Uncle Wang, do you think any prisoners might deliberately let themselves get arrested? And then..."

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!" Uncle Wang's answer was utterly decisive.

He replied with a smile, "You mean someone with ill intentions getting arrested on purpose, then slipping into the Heavenly Prison to cause trouble? It's happened before, but every one of them met a miserable end."

"The Heavenly Prison is unbreakable."

The Heavenly Prison collapsed.

If Ye Wuyou could choose again, he would rather starve to death, die out on the streets, than pull strings to get into the Heavenly Prison.

What the hell was this?

He had merely worked overtime, then dozed off late at night, only to be jolted awake by a deafening crash.

When he turned around, he saw the enormous stone gate on the first level, which never closed, slam down and seal off the entire Heavenly Prison.

Then came a continuous rumbling beneath his feet. The earth shook, and dust falling from overhead filled the prison.

The emergency Uncle Wang claimed had never happened in thirty years had happened just like that.

A riot had broken out in the Heavenly Prison. A lowly jailer, he had been hastily reassigned and swept into the second level amid the chaos. Yet the moment he entered, a falling chunk of stone struck him unconscious, leaving him sprawled on the ground.

What was in front of him?

Six enormous cages lined both sides of the passage, but their interiors were empty. Not a single prisoner was visible.

Where were my teammates? Where was Uncle Wang?

Ye Wuyou struggled to rise, but his hand paused. Looking back toward the cages, fresh horror crept into his eyes.

The candlelight was dim, and he had failed to notice earlier that several figures lay scattered every which way along both sides of the passage.

They wore uniforms identical to his.

Some were colleagues who had entered the second level with him. Others were faces Ye Wuyou had never seen.

One even had a [Grade C] identification tag hanging from his body, which meant his cultivation was at least above the first realm.

Yet now they lay peacefully on the ground, without a single injury, but no longer breathing.

[Looking at your colleagues' corpses while you remained completely unharmed, you could not help smiling serenely and marveling at the truly indescribable wonders of the Formless Heart Sutra.]

Smile, my ass! Who the fuck could smile at this?

Ye Wuyou dragged himself upright, but his body swayed unsteadily.

He silently examined his body. The tiny thread of qi he had just cultivated through the Formless Heart Sutra had vanished completely.

His entire sea of qi seemed to have withered. Now and then, a little wisp of qi popped out and twitched.

He had no idea what his body had experienced while unconscious, or where that little bit of qi had inexplicably been spent, but at least he was alive.

Ye Wuyou reckoned his current condition was much like when he had first "come back from the dead." Even walking left his legs weak.

At the same time, Ye Wuyou cautiously surveyed the surrounding cages.

There was no sign that the cages had been opened. Even the bizarrely shaped chains remained coiled around them, with no indication of having been disturbed.

Empty cells?

But no matter how he looked at this place, it did not resemble the Heavenly Prison's second level that Uncle Wang had described.

[You mere Great Dao Remnants dare show off your paltry skills before a master like me! A trifling illusion—shatter!]

The trash narrator's words in his mind startled Ye Wuyou, but what happened next left him capable of uttering only two deeply heartfelt words.

"Holy shit!"

Before Ye Wuyou's eyes, ripples spread across the six enormous cages. Like mist being wiped from a mirror, they revealed the images hidden within.

He saw them.

A naked, legless man sat there, studying him.

A figure wrapped in something like a skin of white jelly had pressed its entire body against its cage.

A child curled in a corner of another cage occasionally stole a glance in his direction.

The other three cages were farther away, and the dim candlelight made their contents impossible to discern.

Great Dao Remnants? What were those?

Ye Wuyou did not understand, but this clearly was not the Heavenly Prison's second level.

Because at least the second level held people!

[These Great Dao Remnants are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs in your eyes, unable to withstand a single blow. Unfortunately, you are not currently at your peak. For now, you can only sigh inwardly and depart with effortless grace. As for this trash, you can deal with it another day.]

Huh? A trace of surprise appeared in Ye Wuyou's eyes.

The trash narrator actually knew how to back down?

No.

Realizing something, Ye Wuyou immediately retreated several steps.

In his field of vision, the monsters in the cells seemed to have moved a little closer.

Especially the child with the milky-white eyes. At some point, the child had stopped stealing glances and turned its entire head toward him.

Feeling those gazes gather on his body, Ye Wuyou's scalp instantly prickled.

Run! I couldn't stay here!

He staggered upright, then ran toward the other end of the passage.

He did not know what those so-called Great Dao Remnants were, but no matter what, he could not die again.

He did not know where the exit was, but at the very least, he had to get as far from the monsters in those cages as possible.

His legs felt filled with lead, but Ye Wuyou summoned every last ounce of strength and ran as fast as he could.

As Ye Wuyou ran, the already long, narrow passage grew increasingly dark. The scattered candlelight along the way seemed insufficient to illuminate this prison.

His exhausted body seemed to have reached its limit as well. His legs no longer felt like his own.

Ye Wuyou braced his hands against his knees and bent over, gasping.

In the darkness, the passage seemed to have reached its end.

He had just plopped down and leaned against the stone wall, panting heavily, when a sudden chill struck his heart. As though compelled by some unseen force, Ye Wuyou looked to the side.

His eyes met a bright gaze.

A girl in white sat quietly cross-legged on the ground, a longsword laid across her front.

Her long black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Faint candlelight illuminated her picturesque face, while the flickering flame cast the graceful outline of her figure onto the wall beside her.

But a patch of crimson at her wrist had soaked through her white clothes.

She was watching him, her gaze cold and clear.

Ye Wuyou could not shake the feeling that she looked familiar.

[Darkness, danger, the uncanny, an injured woman.]

[All the elements are in place. A moonless, windy night is made for murder; pitch-black darkness is the hour for the bridal chamber. Right now, a lone man and woman share a cell, and she is injured. She must be terribly weak, in need of tender care from a handsome, attentive man. You need only seize the right moment to slip through her defenses, then later refine her into a cultivation vessel...]

Shing!

In a single instant, the white-clad girl stood before Ye Wuyou with her sword in hand.

With that icy blade less than 0.01 centimeters from his throat, Ye Wuyou had no time to react.

The girl's wavering killing intent briefly stunned Ye Wuyou.

You called this terribly weak?

And you wanted me to slip through her defenses?

"Wait, heroine! We're colleagues. There may be some misunderstanding here."

Ye Wuyou delivered those words in one breath, his eyes fixed on a specially made Heavenly Prison token hanging at the girl's waist.

[Grade B]

The Heavenly Prison's jailers were divided into four grades, A through D in descending order. Ye Wuyou, who was not even Grade D, was unquestionably a complete weakling.

And a Grade B jailer, at least here and now, was unquestionably a powerhouse.

The girl's wavering killing intent vanished as swiftly as it had appeared.

But the sword's edge did not move even a fraction away from his throat.

The girl, whose face was as cold as clear frost, slowly spoke with an impassive expression.

"I... I know."

Her voice sounded somewhat strange. Her beautiful, bright eyes remained fixed on Ye Wuyou as her mouth opened slightly.

She seemed about to speak, then stopped.

Confusion filled Ye Wuyou's eyes.

If you knew we were colleagues, why weren't you moving that sword away?

Was something else wrong?

If you had something to say, say it already!

Watching her hesitate, Ye Wuyou could no longer hold back.

"Heroine, is there some other problem?"

The girl frowned, a hint of conflict appearing on her lovely, frost-cold face.

Her cool voice sounded again.

But her words came haltingly, with a slight stutter.

"Everyone on this l-l-level... I ch-ch-checked them all."

"Including y-y-you... you were all d-d-dead."

"Th-th-then... what are you?"