abcnovels
Chapter 118:
Chapter 118:
Chapter 118:
"Shadow Step? It seems like the light movement skill of a thief?"
"Correct," nodded Qiao Mu, reciting the mantra of the Shadow Step technique from his memory and teaching it to Fang Yuan.
This Shadow Step cannot be obtained in just a few days; it also requires something else: money, the money Qiao Mu will have after being released from prison.
Fang Yuan claimed to come from a fallen family, being oppressed by enemies and creditors, and forced to sell their ancestral home to their own enemies.
Although it was like that, after selling the ancestral house, he still had some extra money on hand, otherwise he wouldn’t bring roasted chicken into the heavenly prison every day.
As a death row inmate in the heavenly prison, Qiao Mu’s money had naturally been confiscated a long time ago. Although there was still some savings in Nan Province, where he was originally from, at this moment in Zhong Province, he was completely penniless.
Qiao Mu pondered, thinking that after his head fell, he should still have some money on hand, and this was just an advance preparation.
Gaoler Fang Yuan heard Qiao Mu’s words, but understood them as a dying hero entrusting his orphan: to pass on martial arts to Fang Yuan, only to leave some money for the family…
Indeed, the tiger had fallen and the hero was fading.
"However, why is it the light skill of a thief?" Fang Yuan’s mind wandered.Qiao Mu seemed to understand his thoughts and simply laughed:
"What’s wrong with light skills? You can’t beat an inhuman by fighting head-on, you can only rely on light skills to hide."
Several martial artist figures burned to ashes in the Li fire flashed in his mind, and his mood became slightly downcast.
Shadow Step was given to him by Sheriff Qian of Heyang Prefecture, but it is not easy to learn and master. Sheriff Qian himself was just a beginner when he first started.
Let’s see how much Fang Yuan can learn and how quick his understanding is.
Just as the words fell, there was a commotion outside the heavenly prison, and the sound of footsteps grew closer.
A young handsome Taoist in a green robe walked straight towards Qiao Mu.
"The immortal leader of the Great Dao Sect is here…" whispered a prison guard.
"Why would the immortal leader of the Great Dao Sect come to this heavenly prison? It’s not a good place at all."
"I heard that this Immortal Dao Zhen is the new disciple of Immortal Qingyi."
"Immortal Qingyi was a witness to the assassination of Emperor Yonghe. Sending a disciple now, I wonder what they want to do."
Amidst the voices of discussion, Dao Zhen walked leisurely until he reached Qiao Mu’s prison cell, his expression calm.
"Are you Qiao Zhong?" The young Taoist carefully examined Qiao Mu.
"Did Qingyi send you to supervise?" Qiao Mu casually asked, vaguely remembering the incident.
"No, I am here to seek enlightenment." The young Taoist chuckled softly.
Just when Qiao Mu thought the other person was causing trouble, the young Taoist turned his head and looked at Hai Wuya, who was reading in the neighboring cell.
Supervising Qiao Mu was just a side task, what truly interested him was Hai Wuya.
"Your name is Hai Wuya, right? I’ve heard that you’ve been studying in the heavenly prison for thirty years, and your desire for enlightenment is quite commendable." The young Taoist instructed the jailer to open the cells, then walked into the cell as if he owned the place, casually flipping through the books scattered around Hai Wuya.
As a disciple of the Great Dao Sect and a closed-door disciple under Elder Qingyi, he naturally had some privileges.
The heavenly prison, being a heavily guarded place, is not easily accessible even for the usual privileged individuals.
But as a disciple of Elder Qingyi, he was different.
Hai Wuya just furrowed his brows slightly and ignored him.
Meanwhile, Dao Zhen casually flipped through a pile of books on the ground, feeling a bit disappointed.
"These are just ordinary miscellaneous books. Have you wasted thirty years like this?"
He looked at Hai Wuya, his mind filled with the information he had gathered about Hai Wuya before.
Hai Wuya was a civil servant during the reign of the former emperor. After the Inhuman War, he was imprisoned due to his remonstration with ministers like Wang Songhe.
Later, Emperor Yonghe ascended the throne and pardoned this minister. Unexpectedly, after Hai Wuya was reinstated, he believed that Emperor Yonghe was wise and capable. As a result, he repeatedly entered the palace to offer advice, even getting involved in inhuman matters.
Although Emperor Yonghe didn’t kill him on the spot, he ordered him to be imprisoned in the heavenly prison again.
Two generations of emperors, two imprisonments in the heavenly prison, have lasted for a full thirty years.
As the saying goes, the power of a ruler is hard to predict. Hai Wuya has been confined in the heavenly prison without a definite execution time, which means he could die at any moment.
If the punishment is unpredictable, then its power is immeasurable.
It is a completely different concept to know the exact time of execution compared to not being informed about it, but being at risk of dying at any time because of an emperor’s decree.
If it were an ordinary person, they would most likely be restless and live in fear all day long.
Hai Wuya was the same at first.
However, later on, he did something that even the prison guards at the heavenly prison couldn’t understand.
He asked his family to send him miscellaneous books, and every day in prison, all he did was read, disregarding sleep and food.
At first, the guards didn’t doubt him; they thought he was intentionally acting this way to gain attention and fame, hoping that Emperor Yonghe would hear about it and pardon him.
"Hai Wuya, in this world, who could perform acting for thirty years? And in the heavenly prison, no less?"
Dao Zhen seemed unaffected by Hai Wuya’s disregard and continued talking to himself:
"Mortal lives are limited, not much stronger than the brief life of a Mayfly. It is because of their weakness and brevity that their resilience shines."
Hai Wuya is almost eighty years old, not much younger than Martial Saint.
He had a difficult life, starting as a scholar in his early years, becoming a martial monk in his prime, and later using all his efforts to briefly become a high-ranking official in the imperial court. But after a few years, he entered the heavenly prison and stayed there for half a lifetime.
And Dao Zhen, he liked to observe these extremely resilient mortals.
Qiao Zhong, in his eyes, was one of them too, but he had only been in the heavenly prison for a short time, so he was currently more interested in Hai Wuya.
"You’ve disturbed me." Hai Wuya put down his book and glanced at Dao Zhen casually.
"Old Qiao, can you kick him out?" he called out to his neighbor, Qiao Mu.
He was usually quiet and rarely talked to Qiao Mu, but now he suddenly remembered his neighbor in the next cell.
"I don’t have the ability. I’m just a cripple with severed meridians. Just have to endure it." Qiao Mu shrugged, indicating his helplessness.
Hai Wuya nodded, showing no signs of anger on his face. He placed the book down and sat cross-legged on the grass mat, closing his eyes to rest.
Qiao Mu thought for a moment before casually making a mocking remark:
"Hey, you over there, dare to come and challenge me? Let’s see if you have the guts to enter my prison cell, old man."
Fang Yuan, who had been silent, was stunned by this reckless statement, while the young man Dao Zhen seemed rather pleased, with a hint of curiosity on his face.
"Qiao Zhong, you truly live up to your name, bold and observant… But isn’t this provocation too obvious? Are you worried I might harm your friend Hai Wuya?"
"Ha, don’t worry. Mortals, like insects in the world, fragile yet resilient creatures, how could I bear to harm them with my own hands?"
As Dao Zhen spoke, Hai Wuya, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly trembled slightly, his breath undergoing a subtle change.
Qiao Mu was taken aback, his eyes fixed on the aging body of Hai Wuya… This old man, whose vitality seemed to be diminishing, had just stepped back from the 8th rank to the 7th rank right in front of him?