Chapter 10 Stirrings

If White Mask put it that way, then Ye Chuxiao had no choice but to draw his saber.

Good sir, aren’t you trespassing? Entering a private residence without so much as a by-your-leave?

“It seems you don’t trust me.”

“Then I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Tang Sudong has been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice’s dungeon. I want you to help me get a message to him,” White Mask said.

Before Ye Chuxiao could refuse, White Mask continued, “Don’t refuse just yet. If you’re willing to help, I’ll impart a very practical martial art to you.”

“The Bone Shifting Art. This is an esoteric secret of my Original Canon martial arts system. Once you learn it, you can not only accelerate the bitter realm bone refinement, but also, once this art is mastered, freely change the shape of your entire skeleton.”

“You should know that a person's appearance is almost half determined by their bone structure. As long as you can arbitrarily change your bone structure, it’s equivalent to having a thousand faces. Because it doesn't involve the use of magic but a method of bone shifting, even disguise detection spells will likely fail to see through the changes.”

White Mask spoke quickly, but he obviously didn't know that Ye Chuxiao already possessed something better.

The Nine Deaths Demonic Art, in terms of changing appearances, could alter not only the bone structure, but also the flesh and even the body odor. It was the supreme art of disguise.

“No need! We aren’t on the same path. If you spout any more nonsense, I’ll draw my saber and cut you down,” Ye Chuxiao said to White Mask.

White Mask clearly hadn't expected Ye Chuxiao to reject his offer.

He paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating what else he could offer as a bargaining chip.

But after hesitating, he gave up.

Instead, he said directly, “The loyal and righteous men of the capital are all fools. That's the message I want you to pass on to Tang Sudong. Whether or not you relay it is up to you.”

“Ye Chuxiao! You also owe a great debt to Tang Sudong for the chance to see a different world.”

After White Mask finished speaking, he disappeared silently under the cherry tree.

Even though Ye Chuxiao had already passed through the bitter sea twice, he still couldn't see how White Mask had left.

This meant that White Mask’s cultivation was at least at the Ability realm.

Ye Chuxiao understood the meaning of the phrase "The loyal and righteous men of the capital are all fools."

In recent days, the jailbreakers killed in the Ministry of Justice's dungeon had all been Fool realm cultivators, not even a single one from the bitter realm.

The higher one cultivated in this world, the more indifferent one became. Fool realm cultivators were less easily disturbed, so they still had passion in their hearts. But once they reached the bitter realm, the passion was gone, leaving only apathy and selfishness.

“What does he mean by having me relay this message to Tang Sudong?”

“Is there some scheme of the Original Canon Church behind this?” Ye Chuxiao didn't know the truth, and he was determined not to deliver the message.

It was true that the original owner of this body had a foundation in cultivation thanks to the policies initiated by Tang Sudong.

However, that was before Ye Chuxiao transmigrated. If one were to insist, there might be some connection, but it was rather far-fetched.

After a day off, Ye Chuxiao didn't see Ye Chuyu return. But the next morning, he ran into Ye Chuqi coming back from drinking early in the morning.

After giving his younger brother a session of 'loving' education, Ye Chuxiao dispelled a trace of melancholy and returned to the Ministry of Justice dungeon to continue clocking in for work.

With over a thousand points of destiny on him, in theory, apart from rebellion, whatever Ye Chuxiao did would be a success. If not big money, at least he wouldn't lack small money in the future.

This job in the Ministry of Justice dungeon seemed to have become dispensable.

However, Ye Chuxiao didn't have any plans to move for the time being.

At least... he should explore the entire Ministry of Justice dungeon!

What if he encountered another prisoner with Daoist rhymes?

Once Tang Sudong’s situation eased up after some time, Ye Chuxiao would smooth things over and transfer to a patrolman position.

The income of this position mainly came from turning a blind eye to some private activities within the prison. The income wasn't even enough to cover meals, so transfers were usually relatively easy.

Once he became a patrolman, Ye Chuxiao could openly wander around in various areas and conduct a thorough investigation of the entire Ministry of Justice dungeon.

“I heard they killed more than a dozen again. All of them were Fool realm cultivators, and some were even young kids fresh out of school. They were easily incited by others, and they came to do such a thing, throwing away their lives for nothing. How pitiful!” Zhao Liang said to Ye Chuxiao as soon as they met.

He seemed particularly concerned about the Tang Sudong incident, always inquiring about news everywhere.

Ye Chuxiao sighed upon hearing this.

Regardless of right or wrong, Ye Chuxiao admired the courage of those people.

The Ministry of Justice dungeon was a dragon's den, a place of almost certain death once entered. Those who chose to break into the prison were likely aware of this.

But they still came, without hesitation.

“What do you think they were thinking?”

“The Ministry of Justice dungeon is as solid as a rock. They didn't really think they could rescue someone with just a few people, a few swords, and some low-level cheap talismans and array flags, did they!” Zhao Liang continued.

Ye Chuxiao said, "Perhaps, it's to follow their hearts!"

"Some things, you'll regret doing, and regret even more not doing."

Zhao Liang seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

Two days later, all the jailers were summoned to the main hall on the first underground level again.

The atmosphere in the entire hall seemed very heavy.

Three men dressed in jailer uniforms were suspended in mid-air, covered in bloodstains. Fresh blood dripped down, landing on the faces and bodies of some of the jailers below. But the bodies of these three jailers were already cold.

Their blood had long lost its warmth.

Ye Chuxiao recognized Zhao Liang among the three.

He hung in mid-air, like cured meat waiting to be dried.

“Recently, some of our colleagues have probably received some information, listened to some bewitching words, and done things they shouldn't have done. To be honest... as your boss, I'm very reluctant to do this.”

“Every one of you here is my brother, a comrade eating from the same pot.”

“Killing any one of you pains me like a knife in my heart.” White-haired Biao spoke indignantly, but the emotion he revealed seemed more like anger.

Like anger at not having watched over his backyard like an old dog.

“But I have to do this. I must use their deaths to warn you to do what you're supposed to do and never touch what you're not supposed to touch.”

“Otherwise, you'll end up like them, not only dying yourselves, but your families will also suffer.” White-haired Biao said to all the jailers from the high platform at the front.

In the crowd, Ma Shaokang whispered, “How much benefit did Zhao Liang receive to dare touch such a deadly misfortune?”

Another jailer beside him said, “Who knows? Maybe he was given some kind of mind-altering drug!”

Ye Chuxiao remained silent, looking at Zhao Liang's corpse suspended in mid-air. He frankly realized in an instant that he could no longer stand idly by.

"Leaving aside other matters, that message... I should probably deliver it to Tang Sudong," Ye Chuxiao thought, his heart inexplicably filled with anger.

Logically, he believed that this was due to the lingering effects of returning from the Heavenly Net, influenced by the cultivation flaws of the Heavenly Net world.

His emotions were in a stage where they were easily provoked, far from the usual indifference and coldness of cultivators in this world.

But emotionally, Ye Chuxiao believed... this was definitely not just because of the flaws in his cultivation.

There was something else mixed in.

He wanted to do something, not because of Tang Sudong, but because of Zhao Liang, and those foolish cultivators who had successively come to the dungeon to die.