Luo Jingtian was beheaded.
He must have had decent connections, as someone collected his body.
Chen Guanlou didn't rush out of the city. He had heard that Luo Jingtian's family would not be sent into exile in the northwest for another half a month. For the time being, he continued his duties at Tian Prison with peace of mind.
Only when he felt the storm had passed and saw fewer unfamiliar faces outside Tian Prison did he disguise himself and head to Yangliu Village outside the city. Sure enough, he dug up an oil-paper-wrapped package from under the osmanthus tree. Without looking inside, he hurried back to the capital. Only after confirming he wasn't being followed did he return home.
Without even stopping for a drink of water, he opened the package. Inside were gold, silver, and jewels, plus a bank note for one thousand taels of silver. All told, he estimated the value to be around two thousand taels. Besides that, there was a list of names. After a quick scan, he decisively held the list to a candle flame, watching with his own eyes as it burned to ash.
At the very bottom of the package was a secret manual: the *Ascension Record*.
Just from the name, Chen Guanlou couldn't hide his excitement. Was this the kind of "ascension" he was thinking of? Could this be a hidden world of cultivation? Did powerful cultivators truly exist?
He eagerly flipped through it, only for his face to fall in dismay.
Whether powerful cultivators existed was still unknown, but one thing was certain: he couldn't practice this for now.
Because he couldn't understand it!
The language within was too obscure. He would have to decipher it character by character. Misunderstanding the meaning of a single character could lead to the danger of cultivation deviation. No wonder Luo Jingtian hadn't practiced it after obtaining the manual. He flipped all the way to the end and found several pages of a saber manual hidden there.
He mimicked the movements from the saber manual and got the feeling that it was meant to be used in conjunction with the *Ascension Record* to achieve its greatest effect.
The *Ascension Record* had to be an extremely profound cultivation method. Luo Jingtian would have had no reason to deceive him with it before his death. Since he couldn't practice it yet, he decided to first memorize the entire manual. Then, whenever he had the chance, he would consult learned people to understand the true meaning of each character.
In any case, he had plenty of time. If one year wasn't enough, then two or three would be... He wasn't in a hurry at all.
Money makes things easy.
Chen Guanlou found the yamen runners in charge of escorting the prisoners into exile. They were all bailiffs working for the same system. Although they rarely interacted, as long as the money was right, looking after a few prisoners was no problem at all.
He paid them and smoothed over the connections. He didn't show his face to the Luo family, merely watching from a distance as they left the city gates. Afterward, the expert he hired from the protection agency would escort the Luo family all the way to their place of exile in the northwest, ensuring their safe arrival.
Luo Jingtian had only asked him to ensure his family's safe passage out of the capital. But since Chen Guanlou had received the *Ascension Record* and the silver, he decided to see the good deed through to the end and hired someone to escort them all the way to the northwest. If someone truly wanted to kill the Luo family, they certainly wouldn't do it within the capital's borders. They would likely make their move on some dangerous stretch of road after they had left the city.
The protection agency arranged for an expert to escort them. The two parties met at the Five-Mile Pavilion outside the city.
When he arrived at the Five-Mile Pavilion, he saw a man from the jianghu, wearing a bamboo hat with his arms crossed over his sword.
"Just you?" Chen Guanlou was a little skeptical of the man's ability. Many ants can kill an elephant. Even if one man could fight five, could he take on ten or twenty at once? You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
"Rest assured, Lou Boss, this is our agency's top expert," the manager from the protection agency said with a fawning smile.
Chen Guanlou hadn't used his real name when dealing with the agency. He went by the alias Lou, or Lou Laowu. Everyone called him Lou Boss.
"What if there are too many of them..."
*Shing!*
The sword left its sheath!
The sword returned to its sheath!
A fly that had just buzzed past was sliced in two, its halves falling onto the stone table.
Chen Guanlou winced, his heart trembling. What a fast sword! He stared at the swordsman, whose face was hidden by the bamboo hat. Only the lower half of his face was visible—unshaven and stubbled, giving him an air that was both down-on-his-luck and ruggedly unrestrained. The man never opened his mouth to speak.
He quietly asked the agency manager, "What rank?"
The agency manager held up two fingers.
A 2nd Rank Martial Artist.
*This* was the power of a 2nd Rank Martial Artist? The sword strike was so fast that Chen Guanlou hadn't seen him draw at all. From start to finish, he had only heard a single sound. The sword left and returned to its sheath, yet he had only heard a single sound. Such speed was truly the mark of a 2nd Rank expert.
However, as the customer, he still had to be a little picky.
"Didn't you mention a 3rd Rank?"
"Lou Boss, you may not be aware, but the price you paid only gets you a 2nd Rank."
The implication was clear: 3rd Rank experts were available, but they would cost more.
Chen Guanlou thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Add a few 1st Ranks. I'm afraid one person won't be enough."
"Well... Lou Boss, perhaps you don't understand the market. If a 2nd Rank Martial Artist can't solve the problem, a few 1st Ranks won't be able to either." The agency manager was tactfully pointing out that Lou Boss was a layman. "We're not trying to swindle you; we're in this for the long-term business."
Chen Guanlou decisively paid the fee.
The swordsman took the money and left, disappearing from sight in just a few leaps.
Seeing how readily he paid, the agency manager started pitching more business. "Don't worry, Lou Boss, this trip is guaranteed to be fine. If you need anything in the future, come find me. I'll give you a discount—five percent off." You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
Chen Guanlou was thoroughly unimpressed. He didn't want a discount; he wanted a saber technique. Even a common, run-of-the-mill one would do; he wasn't picky. In this regard, he believed the people from the protection agency would be quite knowledgeable.
The agency manager was indeed knowledgeable. He recommended a saber technique that could be practiced without any internal energy cultivation method and even said that, in light of their business together, he could give it to him for free.
So generous?
Chen Guanlou immediately suspected he'd been ripped off on this deal.
Having obtained the saber technique, he returned to Tian Prison to continue his duties.
A new batch of prisoners was brought into the Bing-Character Cell Block.
He passed by cell number sixty, which housed a newly arrived Flower Thief. Such criminals were like rats in the street, hated by all. Rumor had it that he had committed crimes in the provinces before without getting caught. He had then audaciously come to the capital to do the same, even sneaking into the home of the Vice Minister of War and nearly defiling the Vice Minister's daughter.
Fortunately, the Vice Minister employed several martial artists, and the household servants were diligent. They discovered the Flower Thief's presence in time and captured him in a single move.
In the cell next to the Flower Thief was the master bandit known in the jianghu as "Mr. Kongkong." He had stolen from all corners of the land and had even dared to burgle the Princess Mansion.
The guards at the Princess Mansion were no pushovers. No matter if he had three heads and six arms, he still fell into their inescapable net, had both his legs broken, and was thrown into Tian Prison.
The two of them—one with broken hands, the other with broken legs, both having been caught at the homes of the capital's rich and powerful—were truly brothers in misfortune.
"Got any food?" Mr. Kongkong couldn't move due to his broken legs and could only lean against the wall. His face was caked with blood and grime, unwashed since his capture. He looked utterly wretched.
"Ask the meal server," Chen Guanlou said before continuing his patrol. Newly arrived prisoners like this were considered fat sheep in Tian Prison. As a rookie, he knew his place and didn't compete with the old-timers for business from these fat sheep.
Mr. Kongkong shouted, "That damn meal server is too greedy! He has the gall to demand five taels of silver for a single bowl of congee. If I don't pay, he gives me slop."
Chen Guanlou glanced at him and continued on his patrol.
Mr. Kongkong shouted again, "I have money, but I don't want to be a sucker!"
Chen Guanlou: ...
*Heh!*
That's not up to you
A quick look at will leave you more fulfilled.
Proofreader: Peter Pan