Zhao Yu previously thought the jailer was foolish, but that was not the case. The jailer had simply been frightened upon seeing him come back to life. The jailer clearly remembered that the day before, following the advisor’s instructions, he had slipped a lethal poison into this man’s meal, confirmed that the man had stopped breathing, and pressed the man’s hand onto the confession. They had planned to pretend the next day that the man had committed suicide out of fear of guilt, thereby closing the case. Who could have known that on the second day, this man would be jumping around lively in the cell, strangely howling away?
Once only the two of them were left in the cell, Zhao Yu felt a surge of excitement and wanted to step forward to befriend this martial arts expert. As he walked up and prepared to speak, he froze. How should he address him? This place seemed to be ancient times, and the clothes these people wore closely resembled those of the Tang Dynasty in television shows, with hairstyles identical to those of the Tang as well. Fortunately, thankfully, the hairstyle in this bizarre world didn’t feature a rat-tail or snake-tail braid like the Qing Dynasty; just thinking about that was enough to cause a breakdown. Should he address him as a great hero, brother, or hero like in martial arts movies, or use polite terms like brother-scholar or worthy brother like in other historical dramas? The silly fellow fell into a tangled dilemma right in front of the man, until he finally remembered hearing the man address himself with the surname Liu. He clenched his fist, looking as though he had made a major decision.
Baili Yan watched as this person clearly wanted to come forward and chat with him, only to halt right in front of him. The bright smile on his face had turned into a worried and tangled expression. He saw the man’s cheeks puff out, his brow furrowed, and his index finger absently chewing on his lips, looking delightfully silly and adorable. Finally, as if having made a momentous decision, he clenched his small fists and once again beamed a bright smile. Baili Yan sighed inwardly; this silly kid probably had a talent for facial expression changes.
“Young Master Liu, may I ask if we can be friends?” The silly kid looked at Baili Yan expectantly, his big, round eyes filled with a plea of say yes, say yes, which, paired with his inherently cute face, made him truly hard to refuse.
Faced with this person’s directness and adorable expression, Baili Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled. Was this what they called someone sending a pillow just as you wanted to sleep? He was just wondering how to extract information from this person, and here this person was, taking the initiative to befriend him.
“Why not? Sharing the same cell together can also be considered fate.”
Seeing the other person agree to befriend him, Zhao Yu grew excited and, momentarily carried away, grabbed the other’s right hand in a handshake posture, shaking it continuously. “Brother Liu, my admiration for you flows like the endless waters of the Yangtze River. You don’t know how deeply your dashing posture when dealing with those bailiffs just now is imprinted in my heart. To be able to befriend an expert like Brother Liu, I am truly fortunate.” Zhao Yu chattered on endlessly, expressing his awe and admiration. Having watched too many of Master Xing’s movies, he was instantly possessed by the spirit of Duke Wei. The silly kid completely ignored the fact that this was a prison, that he himself was a death row inmate, and that anyone locked up in the same cell with him was most likely a heinous criminal.
Baili Yan listened with a head full of black lines; he hadn’t really done anything remarkable, had he? This fellow truly lived up to his name as a simpleton, and the name suited him to a T. Yet, could someone like this really commit murder for treasure? It seemed there was either more to the story, or this person was just way too good at acting. Baili Yan completely failed to comprehend the modern reverence people held for martial arts masters.
On the other side, in the back parlor of the county yamen, County Magistrate Liu sat squarely in the center of the hall, with the advisor and the head bailiff seated on his left and right. They were discussing how to deal with the troublesome prisoner in the cell.
“Chief Wang, tell us what happened.” County Magistrate Liu spoke first to break the silence.
“Yes, Your Honor. The matter is like this.” The head bailiff detailed the events that had occurred in the prison today.
“Is this person really that formidable?” County Magistrate Liu was extremely surprised upon hearing this.
“Your Honor, what your humble servant says is one hundred percent true. That man has profound martial arts skills. If he doesn’t want to stay, even if we sacrificed the lives of every single bailiff in Amixian, we wouldn’t be able to subdue him.” The head bailiff’s expression was grave.
“What should we do then? I have already submitted the official document reporting the capture of a high-profile imperial fugitive to my superiors.” County Magistrate Liu was nearly spinning around in anxiety.
“I think otherwise. While we cannot win in terms of force, we can win through strategy.” The advisor smiled with affected profundity, though it lacked any air of wisdom and instead felt rather sleazy.
“Advisor, that man is skilled in martial arts; dealing with him probably won’t be easy.” The head bailiff had witnessed the man’s moves firsthand and had some misgivings.
“If the advisor has any brilliant plan, please share it quickly.” County Magistrate Liu didn’t have so many reservations. Seeing that the advisor seemed confident, his eyes lit up as he eagerly stared into the old man’s wrinkle-ridden face, which he currently felt looked as majestic as a sage.
“It’s very simple. We can add sleeping powder to his food, and then sever his hand and foot tendons. Regardless of whether he is a court-wanted criminal or not, as long as his appearance matches and we have a signed confession, isn’t that a great contribution?”
“This.” The head bailiff hesitated, words failing him.
County Magistrate Liu narrowed his small eyes and snapped, “Speak if you have something to say.”
“Usually, people with high martial arts skills are not easily knocked out by sleeping powder.” The head bailiff quickly explained under the magistrate’s glare.
“You can rest assured about that. I have a packet of top-grade, colorless, and odorless sleeping powder right here.” The advisor confidently retrieved a packet of medicine from his sleeve and handed it to the head bailiff.
“As expected of my advisor. I think this plan is viable. Chief Wang, carry it out accordingly.” The magistrate slammed his desk to finalize the decision, leaving the head bailiff with no choice but to obey and withdraw to execute the plan, silently praying that everything would go smoothly.
That night, the dinner delivered by the jailer to the cells of the hard-labor inmates was worlds apart. Baili Yan’s meal consisted of three dishes, a soup, and a bowl of fragrant white rice, while Zhao Yu’s meal was a bowl of spoiled rice and a hard cornbread made from coarse cornmeal.
Zhao Yu looked at Baili Yan’s food, then at his own, and finally rested his gaze on the food that looked so delicious and smelled so appetizing.
Baili Yan picked up his chopsticks and prepared to eat, only to see the silly kid looking at him with a pitiful and longing expression. Those large, round eyes shimmered with a watery mist filled with desire, and his blank expression looked so aggrieved, just like the silly rabbit his second uncle raised in the valley. Baili Yan put down his chopsticks and pushed his meal over to this pitiful silly rabbit. Instantly, the silly rabbit’s expression cleared up into bright skies, and he happily devoured the dinner that rightfully belonged to him. Baili Yan wondered if he had just been tricked by a silly rabbit.
Nearby, the jailer watched the fool consume the spiked meal and mentally cursed the glutton, while also resenting Baili Yan for being spineless, showing off, and giving away his own meal to someone else.
A jailer quietly slipped out to report this development to the head bailiff, who flew into a rage and smashed his teacup. He ordered a fresh meal prepared, and after getting another packet of medicine from the advisor, mixed it in.
Before long, Baili Yan received another identical dinner. The moment the rice touched his tongue, Baili Yan detected that it had been tampered with, and he sneered inwardly, wondering what tricks they were trying to play. In truth, having been conditioned by his father since childhood to be immune to all poisons, the idea that this inferior sleeping powder could knock him out was pure wishful thinking.
Before he even finished eating, Zhao Yu felt his upper eyelids growing heavy and drooping toward his lower ones. He crawled clumsily onto the bedding and fell fast asleep. That bedding, thankfully, had been provided courtesy of his roommate to maintain environmental hygiene. Baili Yan followed closely behind, collapsing headfirst into a deep sleep.
The jailer crept up to the doorway to peek inside, and seeing that the sleeping powder had taken effect, he motioned outward. Soon after, the head bailiff and a group of bailiffs dressed in night clothes and wearing masks appeared inside the cell. The jailer unlocked the cell door, and the group rushed in, raising sharp sabers gleaming with cold light as they slashed toward Baili Yan’s limbs.
At that moment, the person they thought had been drugged rolled over and sat up, looking at them with a smile that revealed a row of white teeth, sending chills straight through the souls of the bailiffs.
“Oh no, he isn’t asleep! Retreat!” The head bailiff lowered his voice to warn the others, but it was already too late. One bailiff was sent flying with a single kick, his back slamming against the wall before he dropped to the ground and spat a mouthful of blood. Another bailiff had his arm broken, and a third was kicked directly onto Zhao Yu. Zhao Yu was sleeping soundly and restlessly; suddenly pinned down, he raised his leg and kicked the pitiful bailiff aside, rolled over, and continued snoring away in deep slumber.