infodatos Chapter 8 A Man in Black Fell From the Sky
Chapter 8 A Man in Black Fell From the Sky
"Master Dong, brilliant! The monthly share from Prison A is quite substantial; this should be enough to smooth things over."
"If Hu Youtian hadn't been somewhat sensible a while ago, we would have fired him long ago. Hopefully, we can get through to Lord Ding by the end of the month."
Xu Shaogong looked down on Hu Youtian. He had been in prison for so long, yet he was still so sloppy in his work. If he had other options, he would have replaced him long ago.
...
...
Shen Yan, the protagonist, seems to be an outsider.
Of course, this result is not bad for Shen Yan, at least he was not implicated.
Xu Shaogong got the money, Hu Youtian suffered, and Shen Yan enjoyed the show. Only Hu Youtian was hurt.
Hu Youtian, his face grim, led Da Niu and the other three away, his anger reaching its peak. After taking them to his cell, he could no longer contain his rage.
"Are you four idiots? You went looking for trouble while you were on duty. Couldn't you have gone after your shift? I told you to keep an eye on Shen Yan, and what did you do? You didn't get the job done, and now he's on his guard."
"Get out, get out! Tell those corrupt officials they need to pay more. Increase all the original prices by 50%!"
Hu Youtian was transferred to Prison No. 1 as a jailer, which cost him a fortune. He hasn't earned a single tael of silver since taking office, and he's already spent so much money on this job. How can he possibly bear it?
Da Niu and the other three had different opinions when they heard Hu Youtian's words, but they didn't dare to bring them up while he was in a bad mood.
The three men helped Da Niu out of the cell, and the four men looked distressed.
"Those convicted officials might be reinstated at any time. This jailer Hu has only just arrived at cell A and doesn't yet understand their power."
"Sigh, let's remind him again in a few days. Let's find those officials who have been sentenced to death first."
Hu Youtian recalled Shen Yan's face, and his thoughts became confused.
"Ever since Shen Yan came to the Heavenly Prison, everything has gone wrong. Is he really my nemesis?"
His expression was unpredictable, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
After Shen Yan finished his shift, Sun Fugui took him out for drinks.
The two arrived at the tavern, and after a few rounds of drinks, Shen Yan began to inquire about Li Wu.
"Brother Sun, what's the background of that nameless prisoner, C22?"
"I don't know much about this prisoner either. He was already in the prison when I came here, so it must have been about ten years. I heard he's a prince consort. I advise you not to inquire about him; it won't do us any good."
"Okay, I won't ask anymore, let's drink."
Shen Yan recalled Hu Youtian's behavior today; it seemed that Hu had been keeping a close eye on him the whole time.
"Brother Sun, who's standing behind Hu Youtian?"
"What kind of background does Hu Youtian have? He poured most of his life savings into it, squeezed you out of your position, and now look at you, you haven't gotten anything back."
Sun Fugui was utterly disgusted by Hu Youtian's behavior, and his words were filled with disdain.
Suddenly, Shen Yan remembered that Hu Youtian seemed to have practiced martial arts, but he didn't know how good he was.
"I heard that Hu Youtian's Eagle Claw Kung Fu is incredibly advanced. Could he already be a ninth-rank martial artist?"
"Impossible. If he becomes a ninth-rank martial artist, the entire prison will know. Once a martial artist reaches a certain rank, they can escape their lowly status and become a constable in the Six Doors or a junior officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It's not as respectable as being a prison guard in the prison."
Shen Yan nodded silently. Becoming an official in the Great Zhou Dynasty was just like taking the civil service exam in his previous life—it was a matter of bringing honor to one's ancestors.
If Hu Youtian had truly become a rank-one martial artist, he would have definitely sought official positions through connections long ago, instead of vying for a prison guard post.
After finishing their drinks, as they parted, Shen Yan gave him five taels of silver and asked Sun Fugui to find a doctor to treat Lin Changfu's injuries.
Sun Fugui readily agreed to this small matter.
After they parted ways, Shen Yan did not go straight home, but instead went to Zhu Zhengyang's house.
Finding the place empty, they asked the neighbors and learned that the leader of the Giant Whale Gang had taken the two away the day after Zhu Zhengyang was arrested.
"It seems the Giant Whale Gang does have some sense of loyalty."
Back home, Shen Yan began practicing the "Golden Body Technique," hoping to master the Taizu Long Fist as soon as possible. At this time of peak vitality, he had a premonition that he was about to grasp the basics of the "Golden Body Technique."
As he expected, he finally mastered the Golden Body Technique in the latter half of the night.
As his consciousness sank into his mind, he sensed that another small figure in black had appeared on the golden Dao Fruit.
A smile appeared on Shen Yan's face. Just as he had thought, the two techniques could be practiced together.
"As expected, my cheat is not such an inconvenient thing; it's just two mere cultivation techniques."
Just as he finished his practice and was about to go to sleep, a person dressed in black climbed over the courtyard wall.
The man was completely covered in black night clothes, one hand covering his chest and the other holding a fine iron longsword.
Shen Yan saw that there was a broken arrow stuck in his left chest.
Their eyes met, and they stared at each other in bewilderment. The moonlight shone on them, casting long shadows.
The man in black said weakly to Shen Yan, "Save me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man in black collapsed to the ground.
"Okay, I'm here to save you, don't be afraid."
Shen Yan cautiously approached, and as soon as he got close, he launched his attack. First, he kicked the long sword away, then punched him in the chest with his right fist.
Shen Yan used all his strength in that punch.
Bang!
A dull thud sounded, and the man in black stared wide-eyed, his expression one of unresolved death.
Shen Yan picked up the long knife, delivered two more blows, and then sat down to the side with peace of mind.
Although it was only a moment, it felt like an eternity to him, and he was almost completely exhausted.
This was his first time killing someone. He was both nervous and scared. He only stood up after he calmed down.
After cleaning up the traces outside the house, I took out a shovel and dug a large pit next to the peach tree in the yard.
Looking at the huge pit, I felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi - mixed feelings of emotion and reflection).
"This pit is so deep and straight, all those years spent working on construction sites didn't go to waste."
His personal belongings were thrown into the fire pit and burned, and his body was moved to a deep pit and buried.
Looking at the peach tree in front of him, Shen Yan let out a soft breath.
"You, a martial artist of unknown rank, come to my house in the middle of the night, dressed like that—do you think you're a good person?"
"Don't blame me. I don't know who you are, but I know there must be trouble behind you. Turning into fertilizer here will bring more fruit next year, and I'll share it with my colleagues. That way, you'll die a worthy death."
By the time he finished everything, it was almost dawn, so he decided not to sleep.
The man in black carried very little: a fifty-tael silver note, a universal pass that could be withdrawn at any money exchange, and a token engraved with the words "blood hand."
The silver note was accepted, but the token was destroyed by Shen Yan.
……
……
The Eastern Palace, the study.
Crown Prince Li Chengde paced back and forth in his study.
A middle-aged man in his fifties was sitting upright in a grand chair, his eyes half-closed as if he were dozing.
This man was none other than his father-in-law, Zeng Shihong, the Left Chancellor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Father-in-law, you said that Blood Hand hasn't returned yet. Does Father Emperor have something to hide?"
"Impossible. If they had noticed anything, they would have surrounded the mansion by now. They were probably delayed on the way. Your Highness, please rest assured."
The crown prince felt somewhat relieved after hearing his words.
The tea beside him went cold and then was heated again, but the bloody hand was nowhere to be seen. Li Chengde vaguely heard the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking.
Looking up, the sky was already beginning to lighten.