The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 73 Talented people emerge from generation to generation

"Stop, where is this place? Why are you just rushing in? Are you looking for death?"

After coming out of the Dusi Tianjian Yamen, Wang Wen impatiently took Xu Ergou to rush into the government office which had been burned to charcoal, but they were blocked by a team of arrogant soldiers outside the government office.

He had come directly from the Qinghe Gang's temporary base today. He wasn't wearing official uniform or a sword, only a loose-fitting cotton and linen shorts. He looked like a security guard for a wealthy family...

Wang Wen ignored these soldiers and stood on tiptoe to look at the Yangzhou officers and soldiers who were roaming in groups in the ruins of the government office, feeling a little anxious.

"The thing that cuts off your head..."

Xu Ergou caught up with him, panting. Before he could finish his sentence, he jumped over Wang Wen and kicked the soldier who was pointing the red tassel spear at Wang Wen to the ground.

Then he drew his official sword with one hand, intimidating the surrounding soldiers who were glaring at him. He stepped on the chest of the fallen soldier, looked down at him fiercely and cursed: "Open your pig eyes and see clearly. This is our Lord Wang Shaoqiu of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. How dare you, a bunch of assholes, stand in his way? Have you never died before?"

He was a short and strong man, as tall as an iron block, but he exuded an arrogant attitude. Seven or eight soldiers surrounded him, but no one dared to say a word.

"Well, they are doing their job well."

Wang Wen spoke in a pretentious manner, stopping Xu Ergou from stamping on the soldier's chest. "You're about to be promoted to Lingtailang, too. Don't be so impulsive next time. If you have any problems, go talk to their superiors directly."

"Yes, my lord!"

Xu Ergou retracted his right leg, stepped aside, and saluted Wang Wen while holding his official sword.

Wang Wen strode forward with big strides. The soldiers made way for him as he walked, their faces pale as death, their heads lowered, not daring to look directly at him.

Xu Ergou hung his sword back on his waist and quickly followed his steps. As he walked, he shouted in a deep voice to the soldiers on both sides: "Shine your eyes and recognize my master's appearance. If you do it again, I will skin you three layers of skin!"

The soldiers nodded in agreement...

After this little incident, the soldiers in the ruins of the government office all lowered their heads and retreated to the side when they saw Wang Wen, and no one dared to step forward even for routine questioning.

Wang Wen advanced smoothly and arrived outside the government office prison.

As he expected, this prison, built entirely with bluestone slabs, was in the center of the fire but did not collapse due to the flames.

Even through the narrow, open iron gate, one could see that although the prison interior was also covered in dark traces of smoke and fire, the wooden cell bars remained largely intact. This must be because the space inside was too confined, and the lack of oxygen led to incomplete combustion...

He stood in the middle of the charred ruins and looked around. He saw soldiers searching everywhere like they were looking for treasure, but the prison was empty.

I guess they all feel that there's nothing good in prison, and it's also particularly eerie and scary...

Of course, this is also related to the fact that few people know that the White Lotus Sect’s altar is on the second floor of the prison.

Wang Wen opened the iron gate with one hand, turned around and stretched out his hand to Xu Ergou behind him: "Give me the fire starter, you just stand guard outside, and don't let anyone in!"

Xu Ergou took out a lighter from his waist and handed it to him, then took a step back, holding the knife on his waist with one hand and said, "I will do the job, don't worry!"

Wang Wen nodded, took off the cap of the tinderbox, blew out the flame and held it in his hand. Then he took a deep breath, turned around and walked into the dark prison. The strong burnt smell that hit him in the face almost made him suffocate.

He quickly pulled up the sweat towel around his neck to cover his mouth and nose, and then walked forward step by step along the corridor with a tinder in his hand, while trying his best to restrain the desire to look around.

But when he passed by the prison where the government officers had gathered to gamble that night, he couldn't help but glance inside. Then he saw a pile of twisted, mummified bodies dressed in white police uniforms lying in a mess in the prison...

"vomit!"

He retched, hurriedly looked away and jogged forward.

Outside the prison, Xu Ergou squatted behind the ruins of a collapsed wall with his back to the iron gate, looking at the soldiers coming and going with vigilance.

Not long after, he heard the sound of hurried and heavy running behind him.

When he turned his head, he saw his elder brother rushing out of the prison with a cloth bag as big as a bucket, his face as pale as dirt. As soon as he stepped out of the iron gate, he vomited with a sound, bent over and vomited violently.

He quickly came over, supported his eldest brother, and asked with concern: "What's wrong, brother?"

Wang Wen waved his hands vigorously, stuffed the cloth bag into his arms, and said with difficulty, his face flushed, "Don't ask, just go... Don't go through the main gate, go where there are fewer people."

Xu Ergou didn't have time to think about it. He held the cloth bag in one hand and supported him with the other, walked straight out of the prison gate, passed through the ruins of the Third Class Office of the Police Officers opposite the prison, and then passed through the collapsed courtyard wall behind the office to exit the government office...

"Brother, why is there gold in it? Why is it so heavy?"

After the two of them successfully left the blockade of the soldiers, Xu Ergou weighed the cloth bag in his hand and asked curiously.

"This thing is more valuable than gold!"

Wang Wen wiped the filth from the corner of his mouth and whispered with shining eyes.

The scene on the second floor of the prison made him feel sick enough.

But the huge harvest also made him ecstatic!
He guessed right, that miniature palace was indeed the magical weapon that carried the City God's domain!
But this was not the real reason why he was ecstatic.

What really made him ecstatic was that this magical weapon was not just a prototype of a magical weapon, but a semi-finished product that had already been refined into the Yin Realm!

Just now on the second floor of the prison, as soon as he touched this magic weapon, his Yin Shen sensed a hazy open space in it, the area inside was at least as large as the government office.

With this thing, he only needs to refine it, then find a dilapidated temple to erect a statue of himself, and then use the Yin God to consecrate the statue and connect it to this Yin area... He is truly worthy of the title of City God.

This saved him a lot of effort.

White Lotus Sect, good people!
The only pity is that the dark area, which should have been inhabited by "residents", is now empty.

Wang Wen speculated that it must be the evil ghost whose mind was blinded by resentment, which swallowed up all the residents inside without distinguishing between friend and foe.

Otherwise, a large amount of merit points will be credited to your account!
"Take off your clothes..."

After Wang Wen recovered, he took the cloth bag from Xu Ergou's hand, pulled out a foot-tall gilded statue from it, and handed it to Xu Ergou: "Wrap this thing up, take it back to the government office, and hand it to Lord Zhao personally. Say that I took it out from the prison in the government office."

Xu Ergou took off his clothes, wrapped them around the gilded statue, and took it. He fiddled with it in his hands, examining it carefully, and whispered suspiciously, "Brother, why does this thing look familiar? Have we seen him before?"

Wang Wen: "Don't worry about it, just take it back and give it to Lord Zhao!"

Xu Ergou nodded and said "Oh", then swiftly wrapped the gilded statue and hung it on his back. "What about you?"

Wang Wen: "I'm going to see your uncle. When you're done, come back to the Sanhe Gang to find me." Xu Ergou nodded, turned around, and walked quickly towards the Dusi Tianjian Yamen with the cloth bag.

Wang Wen tied up the cloth bag and hung the miniature palace on his shoulder... He didn't have enough magic power and hadn't completely refined this thing, so he could only shrink it to this size in a hurry. After he completely refined it in the future, he could shrink it to the size of a palm and carry it with him. If necessary, he could even completely store it in his Yin Shen.

He stood in the haze, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds outside the haze and taking deep breaths. After a while, he completely suppressed the nausea in his heart and turned to walk towards the Sanhe Gang.

……

Wang Wen finally found Huang Xingde at the Beishuimen dock.

The old man personally sat at the dock to coordinate the transportation progress of materials for various merchants.

When Wang Wen arrived, he saw officials, merchants, and civilians all rushing to and fro within the docks. Furious shouts echoed across both sides of the canal, and everyone was so busy they couldn't even keep up.

"Look at the mess you've made for me..."

As soon as he saw Wang Wen, the overworked Huang Xingde started to grumble, "I'm already this old, and I still have to suffer this. If I die early, it will definitely be because of you!"

Wang Wen chuckled.

Jiang Jin, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but laugh and said, "But it seems to me that you seem quite happy with your busy schedule."

Huang Xingde said angrily, "Brother, which eye of yours saw that I was so happy?"

Jiang Jin smiled and stretched out two fingers, pointing to his own eyes: "Of course I saw it with both eyes."

Wang Wenle laughed uncontrollably: "Hahaha..."

How could he not know that this was a tough job?
In such a large city with a population of nearly 100,000, most of the food, clothing, housing and transportation fell on Huang Xingde alone. The complexity of his affairs was enough to make one's scalp numb just thinking about it.

The government? The government office is gone. Which official would be willing to step forward and take on this mess at this critical juncture? Which official has the power to take on this mess?

By the time they slowly finished the process, Yangzhou City would have probably slipped from being one of the few prosperous metropolitan cities in the Jianghuai region to a small county town on the 18th tier.

It would be better to rely on the people to find a way to survive on their own!

But Wang Wen also knew that this was definitely a good job that he could not ask for.

If he did this job well, the people of the entire Yangzhou city would remember Huang Xingde for his kindness.

No matter what the reputation of the Cao Gang is in the future, at least when the name Huang Xingde is mentioned, the people of Yangzhou will sincerely give him a thumbs up and call him Master Huang!

A wild goose leaves its voice behind when it passes by, and a person leaves his name behind after his death. Isn’t this what old men of Huang Xingde’s age and social status desire most?
After some joking, Wang Wenxian expressed his gratitude to Jiang Jin for saving his life that night.

Jiang Jin helped him up with a smile, and said lightly, "It will be too formal if you continue like this," and passed over what happened that night.

In fact, he did not go to the government office that night just to see Wang Wen, but also to broaden his horizons.

The result really opened his eyes, and he even felt a sense of regret that he was born at the wrong time.

He is already old, but this magical and exciting world has just begun...

After thanking him, Wang Wen asked, "Master, where is Lin Baichuan?"

Jiang Jin: "Boss Lin left yesterday, saying he was going to clean up the rotten branches and leaves within his Beggars' Sect that were colluding with the White Lotus Sect. But in my opinion, he is too embarrassed to face you."

He stroked his beard and said with a smile, "By the way, before he left, he asked me to tell you that the Beggars' Sect owed you, Wang Erhu, a big favor, and he will definitely repay you in the future!"

After hearing this, Wang Wen felt a little relieved and said with certainty, "The Beggars' Sect isn't very good, but Leader Lin is indeed a hero!"

To be honest, he actually didn't know how to face Lin Baichuan.

That fat guy is really awesome!
When he was dealing with the feud with the Beggars' Sect, his methods were indeed a bit extreme.

Although he was justified and had no regrets, he was still a little scared when facing the fat man.

Jiang Jin nodded and said, "That's right, a man should distinguish between gratitude and resentment, and deal with one thing at a time!"

Wang Wen nodded in agreement, and then continued, "By the way, today the Deputy Supervisor of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, Taoist Ji, the high-ranking Taoist priest of Mount Mao, brought back some news..."

He briefly recounted to the two elders what he had seen and heard in the main hall of the Astronomical Observatory today, picking out the most important and relatable things. He then said, "Master Ji wanted to invite Master Uncle to join him on the Huangshan expedition, but I said I was a junior and didn't dare to interfere with Master Uncle's itinerary."

After listening to his retelling, the two remained silent for a long time.

After a while, Huang Xingde finally sighed, "With all the gods and demons, I'm becoming increasingly confused about the ways of the world!"

Jiang Jin didn't say anything, but the sense of loss in his eyes was evident.

After a long moment, he sighed softly and said, "Now that this matter is settled, I'm leaving today to rush back to the headquarters to meet the gang leader. I won't be joining in on the fun... From what you just said, you're going to Huangshan?"

Wang Wen nodded and answered crisply, "The government has already decided that I will lead one hundred Sitian Guards to accompany Taoist Ji to Mount Huangshan."

Huang Xingde opened his mouth to speak, but when the words reached his lips, they turned into a low sigh.

Jiang Jin nodded approvingly: "Young people should have the youthful vigor and bloodiness... Work hard, the next thirty years of the Great Zhou martial arts world depends on you!"

Wang Wen quickly said he didn't deserve it, then turned to look at Huang Xingde: "Foster father, regarding the mess at home, you should discuss it with Zhao Zhiling and the others. Let them make the decisions, and we'll just do the hard work. If it goes well, we won't get any credit, and if it goes badly, it's not our fault."

Huang Xingde's eyelids twitched, and he replied in a stern voice, "You don't need to worry about this mess. You should just take care of yourself!"

After a pause, he still couldn't help himself and said earnestly: "When you are outside, don't try to be the first when encountering problems. You don't have that much brain. The court is full of talented people. It's not like we have to eat hairy pigs without you, Wang Erhu. Even if the sky is about to fall, it is not your turn to hold it up..."

Wang Wen was so tickled by his chanting that he nodded repeatedly, interrupting his spellcasting. "Yes, yes, yes, I'll do as you say. When we get to Huangshan, I'll try to hide as long as I can, or escape if I can't. I won't risk my life against anyone. I'll come back in good health and take care of you until the end of your life!"

Huang Xingde finally got angry and grabbed the account book and threw it at him: "You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. Get out of here!"

"Go away!"

Wang Wen stood up and clasped his fists towards Jiang Jin, saying, "Master, I'll go get someone to prepare a banquet. You must eat and drink enough before you set off."

Jiang Jin laughed and cursed in a ridiculous way: "It's true that a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory, get out of here..."

(End of this chapter)