Wuxia: Start with max-level Nine Yang Divine Skill

Deep inside the government prison, the light was dim and the smell was foul.

Thick wooden fences separated the cells, and torches stuck in the walls of the passageway crackled and burned, casting swaying shadows.

Cao Mufeng was locked in the innermost specially made cell, his hands and feet were shackled with heavy iron shackles, and the other end of the chains was firmly locked to iron rings on the wall.

He sat against the wall, eyes closed and silent, his face still covered in blood, pale as paper.

The cell door opened, and Li Fu walked in, followed by Chen Tao, who was gripping the hilt of his knife tightly and looking tense.

Chen Tao carefully placed a multi-layered brocade box on a dilapidated wooden table in the center of the cell, his eyes never leaving Cao Mufeng, as if the other party might suddenly launch an attack at any moment.

Li Fu lifted his robe and sat down on a long bench next to the table, looking at Cao Mufeng.

Cao Mufeng opened his eyes, his gaze met Li Fu's, and then turned to the brocade box. His nostrils twitched slightly, and his wariness deepened.

"What do you mean?"

He asked in a hoarse voice.

Li Fu smiled slightly and asked a question instead of answering.

"My friend, you must have been very busy yesterday?"

His tone was as if he were chatting casually.

"Yesterday, we fought at the mortuary. You were struck by my palm, but escaped using poisonous smoke."

You said you had important business to attend to, and I initially thought it was just an excuse to run away.

Looking back now, you really did have important things to do. Although you looked anxious at the time, you weren't filled with resentment; you probably just sensed that something might have happened to your younger brother, Cao Yu.

Cao Mufeng's eye twitched, and a look of pain flashed across his face.

Li Fu continued, "I suppose after your investigation, you somehow learned about this secret, which was actually no longer a secret in the government office."

Cao Yu was instructed by Hong Tongpan to be killed in prison.

Enraged, you searched for Magistrate Hong's residence that very night, kidnapped him, and took him to the execution ground, intending to publicly behead him in revenge.

He then fought me again and was captured by me.

"They've been on the move, fighting non-stop all day and night. They probably haven't even had time to catch their breath or drink water!"

He reached out and opened the brocade box, inside were several exquisite side dishes, a bowl of steaming white rice, and a pot of wine.

"These are all fine wines and dishes bought from outside. Why don't you have some food first?"

"Trying to bribe me with a meal?"

Cao Mufeng sneered, "That's far too wishful thinking."

"What?" Li Fu picked up the wine pot, poured himself a cup, but didn't drink it. "Are you afraid I'll poison it?"

Just then, Cao Mufeng's stomach made two soft gurgling sounds.

Although he was highly skilled in martial arts, he was still made of flesh and blood. After days of intense fighting, he had exhausted himself and was seriously injured, making him extremely weak. At this moment, the aroma of food triggered a reaction in his stomach.

"Poisoning?"

From the time I could walk, I have been identifying all kinds of herbs, ingesting poisonous substances, and cultivating poison skills. There may be some extraordinary poison in the world that can still poison me.

But you definitely don't have it.

"Then what are you afraid of?"

Li raised his glass in a gesture of respect.

Cao Mufeng stared at the food for a moment, then looked at the shackles on his body, and finally moved his body, the chains rattling.

He walked to the table, picked up his rice bowl, and began to eat heartily. Although his movements were quick, he did not appear disheveled; instead, he exuded an air of arrogance.

Chen Tao watched from the side, his palms sweating, gripping the knife handle tightly.

Li Fu glanced at him and laughed, "Chen Tao, the way you're acting makes Brother Cao uncomfortable while he's eating."

Chen Tao lowered his voice, almost whispering, "Sir, the prefectural jail is not as secure as the state jail. The jailers here are mediocre in martial arts. What if..."

"What are you afraid of?"

Li Fu took a sip of wine.

"He was captured by me even before he was injured, let alone now that he is seriously injured and in shackles?"

"With me here, you can rest assured."

Chen Tao was taken aback. After thinking about it, he realized it was true. His expression relaxed slightly, and he unconsciously puffed out his chest. His gaze towards Cao Mufeng became less fearful and more scrutinizing.

Cao Mufeng devoured the food in a whirlwind, even drinking the wine in the pot until not a drop was left, before putting down his chopsticks and remaining silent.

Li Fu waited until he finished eating before asking, "Are you full?"

Cao Mufeng did not answer.

"These were prepared by the head chef of Zuixianlou Restaurant in Yanzhou."

Even officials from the capital praised the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck and Jade Shrimp from Zuixianlou Restaurant.

Li Fu spoke slowly.

"Once you've had this meal today, you'll never taste such good food again when you're transferred to the death row. Consider this a small token of my appreciation."

Cao Mufeng's face darkened.

"My feelings?"

Who is to blame for my current predicament?

"If it weren't for you, what could those good-for-nothings do to me? Even if we were surrounded by a large army, I could still leave whenever I wanted!"

Li Fu seemed not to have heard what he said, and without boasting about his martial arts skills, continued.

"I have a few questions for Brother Cao. You can answer them or not."

If you don't answer—

He paused for a moment, then said.

"Then I have nothing to say."

You will soon be sent to a prison, where no one will give you a chance to speak, and no one will listen to your defense.

A series of bloody incidents, robberies of officials, assassinations... any one of these would be enough to get you killed several times over.

Hong Tongpan hates you to the bone, and he will surely find a way to kill you quickly, so that you will follow in your brother's footsteps.

"At that time, all your grievances and secrets will have to rot inside you, buried with you in the earth."

The cell was deathly silent, save for the crackling of the burning torches.

Cao Mufeng's chest heaved, and the iron chains rattled softly, clearly indicating an intense inner struggle. He exhaled a heavy breath and said...

"What do you want to ask? Go ahead and ask!"

But don't think I'm afraid of that iron cage.

I'm just grateful for the meal you treated me to; you were quite hospitable.

Li Fu didn't take his stubbornness to heart.

He knew that Cao Mufeng would speak after finishing his meal.

This person exudes arrogance from head to toe, and proud people are often concerned about their image.

"good.

"First question—in January, there have been over a dozen cases of looting treasures and murders across Yanzhou. Are you the perpetrator?"

Upon hearing this question, Cao Mufeng raised his head. In the firelight, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was pale. He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"I didn't commit those crimes."

"Sir, do not believe his sophistry."

Chen Tao, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but interject.

"It must be him, the mastermind behind the robbery!"

He even dared to kidnap Lord Hong; what else wouldn't he be capable of?

He still remembered how Cao Mufeng had used a small amount of sleeping potion to knock him out in a sorry state.

Li Fu waved his hand to stop Chen Tao from speaking, and quietly looked at Cao Mufeng before continuing to ask questions.

"Brother Cao is Cao Yu's own brother, which you yourself admitted before."

But the one who committed over a dozen bloody crimes, stole treasures, delivered a note, and dared to defy the authorities to ransom the person—wasn't it you?

When Cao Mufeng mentioned his deceased younger brother, his body trembled slightly, and a trace of pain and regret flashed across his face.

"My younger brother has been spoiled by me since he was a child."

Looking back now, I truly regret my actions—I should not have taught him martial arts, let alone the art of poison, and I should not have spoiled him so much, which led to his unruly and lawless nature.

"This time I went down the mountain to travel the world, and out of a moment of pity, I took him with me. I never expected that just one moment of not keeping an eye on him would lead him to commit such a grave mistake."