Su Fan was startled. He was currently in stealth mode, yet someone had discovered him?
*Clang!*
The sound of dragging chains came from the cell directly facing the iron gate.
A disheveled figure, whose appearance was obscured by their hair, dragged themselves to the edge of the cell and looked towards Su Fan's position.
"You think a mere invisibility spell can fool us old timers?"
Seeing this, Su Fan's figure directly reappeared.
Since they had already found him, there was no point in hiding any longer.
"I'm just looking for someone. Have any of you seniors seen a woman being locked up here?"
Su Fan asked the prisoners opposite him.
The prisoners in the other cells were all hiding in the back, so Su Fan couldn't see who they were, making it impossible to determine if Xiao Xue'er was among them. However, he guessed she probably wasn't. This place was not fit for humans, and with Xiao Xue'er's strength, she might not last two days here.
"There are women, of course. Which one are you looking for?"
A prisoner from the first cell to the right of the iron gate dragged their chains closer. It was a woman, but she was unkempt. As she spoke, a row of large yellow teeth was visible. However, her voice sounded youthful and melodious, suggesting she was likely a beauty in her youth.
"That's right, that's right. The first time I've heard of someone looking for a woman in the Ministry of Justice's prison. But I don't have any objections, young sir, come in and have some fun."
From the third cell to the right of the iron gate, another woman appeared. This woman looked a bit cleaner than the one in the first cell. At least her features were visible, but she wasn't particularly attractive. Her complexion was sallow, and her skin was rough. Even if she usually took care of her personal hygiene, she didn't appear very clean.
This was a water prison. It was already commendable to maintain such a state in this godforsaken place.
The woman's words were flirtatious, and she looked at Su Fan like a cat eyeing a fish, her eyes full of desire. If not for the cell bars, she might have pounced on Su Fan by now.
"Seniors, I'm just looking for someone. Please forgive me for the intrusion. Goodbye."
Seeing this, Su Fan knew Xiao Xue'er was definitely not here. If she were, she would have appeared upon hearing his voice.
Since Xiao Xue'er wasn't here, he prepared to leave.
"Wait!"
Just as Su Fan was about to leave, the prisoner in the cell directly facing the iron gate suddenly called out to him.
"Who are you? What's your connection to the royal family? Is the person you're looking for surnamed Xiao?"
The other party fired off several questions, and Su Fan didn't know which one to answer.
"Who I am is not important. The person I'm looking for is not here, and I have no need to waste words with you."
Su Fan shook his head and said.
"Wait!"
Seeing Su Fan about to leave, the other party called out to him loudly again.
"Let us out, and we'll help you find your person!"
The other party stated their purpose. They had been here for decades and had finally encountered a living person. How could they let this opportunity slip away so easily?
"No need, I'll find her myself."
Anyone could see that these people were not to be trifled with. Even the most heinous criminals were not kept in the water prison, so one could imagine how dangerous the prisoners here must be.
"You mentioned the person is surnamed Xiao, and the royal family is also surnamed Xiao. Why would someone looking for a member of the royal family come to the dungeon? Is there something wrong with the Tianlong Dynasty's royal family?"
The other party was still unwilling to give up. Seeing that Su Fan wasn't going to help them, they shifted their approach, discussing Xiao Xue'er, whom Su Fan had mentioned.
"Yes, the person I'm looking for is indeed a member of the royal family. What exactly do you want? Just say it. Releasing you is impossible. I have enough trouble already and don't want to stir up more."
Su Fan turned back and said to the other party.
"Release us, no! Just release one person, and I'm willing to trade for it!"
The other party said to Su Fan with urgency.
Su Fan was speechless.
"Do you think you're very smart, or do you think I'm an idiot? Is there a difference between releasing one person and releasing all of you? If one person gets out, they won't need my help; your own people will release you, won't they?"
"No! We are under a curse. We cannot touch these prison bars. Otherwise, I would have already broken out!"
The other party explained to Su Fan.
Su Fan looked confused.
"What curse?"
This time, the other party didn't speak but explained with actions.
The prisoner tremblingly extended their hands, a look of fear on their face. Then, gritting their teeth, they grabbed the iron bars of the cell.
Instantly, the prisoner trembled as if electrocuted, sparks of electricity continuously erupting from their body, even their hair standing on end.
"Big brother!"
The prisoners next to them looked at the prisoner being electrocuted in the middle cell with great tension.
However, no matter how anxious they were, they did not touch the iron bars, their eyes filled with apprehension and fear when they looked at the prison bars.
Su Fan's brow furrowed.
Is this prison electrified? But there's no electricity in this world, is there?
The prisoner quickly let go, panting heavily.
"Did you see? This is the curse. To prevent us from leaving this godforsaken place, the Xiao clan has placed some curse on us. We cannot touch these iron bars. Only you, only you can open our cells!"
The prisoner said to Su Fan with urgency.
Su Fan moved his body, levitating into the air, and flew to the front of a cell, reaching out to touch the iron bars.
Su Fan was unharmed. In his hand, it was just an iron bar forged from fine iron.
"Do you believe me now?"
The prisoner, referred to as "Big Brother," said to Su Fan.
"I believe you, but I don't want to save you."
Su Fan nodded and said to him.
The prisoner's face immediately stiffened.
"Who knows if you have any schemes? I don't believe you are innocent just because you are imprisoned here. It's better to let you stay here than to release a devil."
Su Fan left without hesitation.
He had almost been tricked. Although the other party, due to the curse, could indeed not touch the prison bars if released, they could threaten others to open the doors. With so many prisoners outside, couldn't they just grab one and open all the cells?
Once he understood this, Su Fan knew what their plan was, and therefore, he absolutely could not let them out.
"Don't go! Don't go! I'll give you martial arts! I'll give you spells! I'll teach you everything I've learned in this life! Let me out! Ah!!!"
No matter how the other party tempted him from behind, Su Fan remained unmoved.
These things might be good, but he didn't know if he would live to take them out. In Su Fan's eyes, these were all top-tier boss-level opponents. He had to treat one with great caution, let alone eight of them at once.
Passing through the iron gate, Su Fan could still hear the continuous roars from inside.
It seemed they had been imprisoned for a very long time, almost driven mad by their desire to get out.
Su Fan's trip was unsuccessful in finding Xiao Xue'er, which was not good news. It meant that Xiao Xue'er was either dead or imprisoned within the palace. Neither outcome was something he wished to see.