The next day.
Minister of Revenue Yang Rusong was executed along with all his family, for the crimes of insulting the Royal Family and slandering the Court.
Jiang Feng checked his system panel.
Name: Jiang Feng
Fortune: 1456
Cultivation Technique: Prison Guard Health Care Skill (Mastery+)
Skills: Prison Guard Long Fist (Proficient+)
Realm: Seventh Grade (Marrow Refining)
Divine Power: Immortality
With Yang Rusong's head displayed publicly.
Jiang Feng had truly survived this crisis.
His Fortune Point tally broke a thousand, reaching 1456 points.
Even as he secretly rejoiced, he also felt a chill for himself.
He knew well Yang Rusong hadn't died by his hand, but had perished in the chaos of the imperial court; rival factions had fueled the flames, and once the whole city was awash in Yang Qi's verses insulting the Imperial Consort, Yang Rusong's death was inevitable.
Even if that infamous poem wasn't written by Yang Qi.
Yang Rusong still couldn't live.
Because the Royal Family needed Yang Rusong's head to draw a final line under this scandal.
This made Jiang Feng realize how terrifying imperial authority was.
Even someone like Yang Rusong, a First-Grade Official, had his fate decided by the Royal Family's whim.
Only by constantly growing stronger—becoming invincible—could one use martial power to contend against imperial authority, and truly stand above all beings.
Jiang Feng became firmer in his resolve to lie low, do well as a Little Prison Guard, speak cautiously and act carefully, and earn enough Fortune Points.
Noticed that both Prison Guard Health Care Skill and Prison Guard Long Fist now had a plus sign behind them.
He thought for a moment, then allocated a thousand Fortune Points into Prison Guard Health Care Skill.
He felt that realm was still the most important.
At least it could help him bluff.
Once his Fortune Points surpassed a thousand, the plus sign appeared behind Prison Guard Health Care Skill.
Soon, the system panel changed again.
Name: Jiang Feng
Fortune: 456
Cultivation Technique: Prison Guard Health Care Skill (Minor Achievement)
Skills: Prison Guard Long Fist (Proficient)
Realm: Sixth Grade (Refining Organs)
Divine Power: Immortality
"Boom!"
Jiang Feng threw a punch.
He felt his internal organs surge with Qi and Blood Power—one punch could pierce a mud wall.
If he met again the people trying to shoot Wang He with arrows, facing their arrows, Jiang Feng was now confident he could outrun them.
Even without using a Body Technique.
Just the speed from his Sixth Grade Realm was enough to spar and maneuver with them.
"I need to save up more money, find a way to get some books on powerful body martial arts to practice. Otherwise, even if I've got pure martial power, I won't know how to apply it—against those seasoned experts, I'll suffer too easily."
Jiang Feng muttered to himself.
Prison Guard Health Care Skill and Prison Guard Long Fist were actually pretty good; though they were the lowest-level cultivation and skill techniques, they were the most basic training methods. If he could practice both to Great Perfection State, the strength he could display would rival the third-rate techniques in the secular world.
It was just that these two methods advanced far too slowly—even with diligent training, most people would only manage Mastery in their lifetimes.
But Jiang Feng was different.
With Fortune on his side, as long as he had enough time, he would eventually master Prison Guard Health Care Skill and Prison Guard Long Fist to Great Perfection State, relying on those to roam the world.
Of course, if other more advanced cultivation methods came his way, Jiang Feng wouldn't refuse them.
And he needed some extra skills for backup now.
Like body technique, and weapons martial arts—saber, spear, staff, and so on.
With just one set of Prison Guard Long Fist, facing a real expert, Jiang Feng wouldn't have much advantage.
However, in this world, whether it's cultivation techniques, body martial arts, or weapon skills—they're all extremely precious. Currently, Jiang Feng had saved up just over one hundred and thirty silver taels, counting everything he'd won.
With that little money, there was no way to buy any advanced cultivation and martial techniques.
Even so, he decided to wait a few days, until things calmed down, then find a chance to check out the Black Market.
The so-called Black Market was where corrupt officials and gangsters colluded in underground trade.
Even in places like Dragon Capital, it couldn't be avoided.
Rumor had it the Black Market in Dragon Capital was founded by a Prince himself.
That place had its own rules.
Before, Jiang Feng's strength was too low, he'd never gone near it.
Now, he'd become a Middle Third Grade Martial Artist.
With Sixth Grade Refining Organs cultivation, Jiang Feng finally dared to stroll through the Black Market.
After Yang Rusong's whole family was executed, Jiang Feng, as usual, came to Zhenbei Prison to take his shift.
Inside the cells, everyone was gossiping about the execution of the Yang Family.
Jiang Feng ignored it all, dutifully performing his daily work.
These past few days, Zhenbei Prison saw many people dragged in—mostly those implicated by the Yang Qi affair, but even more were just common rubberneckers, folks who idly joked about Yang Qi's poem and got caught, brought in to fill the headcount at Zhenbei Prison.
After entering, all these people first had to take a whipping.
That was an order from above.
Many Little Prison Guards, normally oppressed by life, would scramble to grab the whip and beat those hapless fools.
Uncle Huo joined in for a few days too.
He practiced Whip Technique several days in a row, seeming to find his rhythm, and especially invited Jiang Feng to give it a try. Jiang Feng refused at once, making up an excuse to brush him off.
He'd never touch something that might breed karma.
What if one of these rubberneckers defied fate and became a god, remembering the ones who lashed them and hunting each one down for revenge?
In this way, a month passed.
The Yang Qi scandal began to fade.
Zhenbei Prison rarely saw any new rubberneckers hauled in for talk of Yang Qi's verses.
The cells had emptied out quite a bit.
Some people suffered a few days of beatings, spent quite a bit of money, and finally regained their freedom.
Others, who were frail, couldn't make it and were carried out and dumped at the Chaotic Burial Mound.
Some, after enduring rounds of torture, wailed and became crippled—then were chucked outside.
In short, the Court had crushed the affair by brutally bloody means; within this month, the daily deaths at the Four Great Prisons reached the highest in years.
Jiang Feng and his fellow Little Prison Guards had their workload grow too: not only did they deliver food to prisoners, but they also had to patrol for corpses in the cells—once found, they had to be dragged out for disposal immediately.
Otherwise, if a corpse started rotting in the cells—
the stench would linger and never leave.
This month, Jiang Feng became desensitized to death; even Uncle Huo and the others stopped getting any pleasure from whipping inmates. Each time a new batch arrived, everyone just looked exhausted.
Eventually, once the scandal subsided—
the daily prisoner turnover returned to normal. Both Jiang Feng and the other guards unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
As old Squad Leader, Uncle Huo went so far as to spend a lot of money tonight preparing a huge pot of pickled vegetables with tofu, inviting Jiang Feng and a few other guards over to his place to eat together.
Jiang Feng did not decline, and together with three other Little Prison Guards, drank plenty of wine at Uncle Huo's home.
For this rare moment of relaxation, Jiang Feng even joked around with Uncle Huo and the others.
When they were all full and drunk, the group headed home.
As Jiang Feng walked out from Uncle Huo's alley, still tipsy, he roused his Qi and Blood to shake off the alcohol, regaining clarity.
In this perilous world, Jiang Feng dared not lower his guard.
Back at home and just about to sleep, Jiang Feng suddenly felt as if he was being watched.