Chapter 44

There was nothing unusual!

Shen Changqing frowned. Could it be that he had misperceived something?

As he thought, he looked at the bailiff: "Guard strictly, and do not let any mistakes happen. If anyone escapes, no one will be spared from punishment!"

"I understand, sir!"

The man trembled, hurriedly bowed, and accepted the order.

Shen Changqing waved his hand, signaling the man to leave.

Watching the bailiff's departing back, the ominous premonition in his heart did not lessen but grew even stronger.

"No, something's not right!"

"There must be a problem!"

Shen Changqing's frown deepened. He had never had such a strong premonition before.

That meant something bad might really happen.

Standing there, Shen Changqing fell into deep thought.

"Zhao Fang is a member of the Eternal Alliance. Now that the Zhao family has been exterminated, if the Eternal Alliance makes any moves, it's not entirely impossible!"

"Moreover, the evil spirit in Guyue Village was killed by me, and Zhuang Mingyuan also died at my hands. The Eternal Alliance, as an organization that can cause trouble for the Great Qin, must have considerable power, not to mention that it is backed by evil spirits."

"From any perspective, the Eternal Alliance has no reason to stand idly by—"

Standing there for a long time, the two words 'prison break' reappeared in Shen Changqing's mind.

The Eternal Alliance was created by evil spirits, with the purpose of dividing the human race.

At first, others might not have known that Zhao Fang was a member of the Eternal Alliance, but when the Zhao family was exterminated, some people must have known the truth.

At this moment,

If the Eternal Alliance makes no move, it would undoubtedly be detrimental to its future development.

No matter what, the Eternal Alliance must take a stance, one that can attract others to join and reassure its members. Therefore, the probability of a prison break before the Zhao family is executed is not small.

Even if the prison break ultimately fails,

Others will understand that even if something happens to them, the Eternal Alliance will not sit idly by.

In this way, those who join the Eternal Alliance will have a stronger sense of belonging.

"I want to see if you have the qualifications to break into the prison in front of me!"

After almost confirming his suspicions, Shen Changqing walked towards the outer hall.

Because it was not far,

He did not spend too much time and soon arrived at the entrance to the prison corridor. Several bailiffs, led by Hong Cheng, were holding torches and patrolling with their swords.

Seeing Shen Changqing's arrival,

"Sir!"

Hong Cheng was initially stunned but quickly came forward to greet him.

In the middle of the night,

He did not understand why Shen Changqing was not resting in the inner hall but had come here instead.

"Is there any unusual situation?"

"We are strictly patrolling, and so far, there has been no abnormality," Hong Cheng replied truthfully.

Upon hearing this,

Shen Changqing looked down at the dark corridor, which was the specific entrance to the prison. Since the prison was located underground in the yamen, one had to go down here to enter it.

Of course,

If one dug from elsewhere, they could also enter the prison, but the noise would be significant, and the difficulty would be considerable.

The prison was not built with ordinary stones.

When the prison was constructed, the court had already considered this possibility and taken corresponding preventive measures.

This point,

Shen Changqing had learned a lot about after taking over the yamen.

After looking at the entrance, his gaze fell on Hong Cheng.

"From now on, I will stay here to guard. You all go back and do not come out easily at any sound."

"Sir, you mean—"

Hong Cheng's expression turned serious, and the other's words made him feel an ominous premonition.

Shen Changqing touched the hilt of his sword, a slight smile on his face, but the smile seemed cold under the torchlight.

"There might be something trying to break into the prison, but this is not something you should handle."

If evil spirits were to break into the prison, it would not be a simple matter.

Among the bailiffs, only Hong Cheng was a martial artist at the Body Tempering stage, but his strength was pitiful in Shen Changqing's eyes.

Facing evil spirits,

Even at the Meridian Unblocking stage, there was no guarantee of success.

"Be careful, sir!"

Hong Cheng took a deep breath. Shen Changqing's words instantly made him understand some things, realizing that staying here would only be a hindrance, so he immediately called the other bailiffs to leave.

Soon,

Only Shen Changqing remained at the entrance to the prison.

The moonlight illuminated, dispelling some of the darkness, and the scene fell into silence.

Time passed slowly.

The sound of the night watchman's bell occasionally rang out.

After several hours, nothing happened.

Shen Changqing was not particularly impatient.

In his view, if the evil spirits were to break into the prison, he would intercept them all, but if they did not come, it would be best for everything to be peaceful.

The wind blew,

Causing the leaves to rustle, and the sounds of insects and birds suddenly disappeared.

A faint chill crept in from all directions, making goosebumps rise uncontrollably.

They're here!

Shen Changqing's grip on the hilt of his sword tightened slightly, but his expression remained calm, his eyes scanning the surroundings like lightning.

Evil spirits are intangible.

If they do not reveal themselves, it is difficult to locate them.

However, evil spirits carry a cold aura, which is almost impossible to hide when they get close.

The current situation already indicated that the evil spirits were nearby, but their exact location was unknown.

"Whoosh!"

The wind had grown stronger.

In the howling wind, faint sounds of children's laughter could be heard, but when listened to carefully, it seemed like someone's cries and curses.

Despite this,

Shen Changqing's mind remained undisturbed.

Not long after,

The scene before his eyes suddenly changed. He found himself in a dilapidated temple instead of the yamen.

The door frames were crooked, and spider webs were everywhere.

A shadowy figure suddenly dropped from above, making Shen Changqing's grip on his sword tighten again.

When he looked closely, he saw that the shadow was actually a hanged woman's corpse.

The woman's corpse was stiff, with disheveled hair and a deeply decayed face. One eye socket was empty, and the other eye had maggots wriggling, staring at him intently.

Before Shen Changqing could react,

He suddenly felt a tightness around his neck. A rope dropped from the beam, trying to hang him.

Pure Yang True Qi burst forth.

Shen Changqing grabbed the rope and burned it with his True Qi.

At that moment,

A cold aura rose from his heart, and the woman's corpse began to struggle violently, as if coming back to life. The decayed flesh on her face fell off as she struggled.

Seeing this,

He fully activated the Pure Yang True Qi in his dantian, which instantly spread throughout his body. He gripped the hilt of his sword, and as the long sword was drawn, it burst forth like a flame, raising the temperature around him and dispelling the cold aura.

Boom—

The long sword slashed, and the woman's corpse was cut in half. Black blood and decayed internal organs fell to the ground, and a piercing scream echoed at the same time.

Shen Changqing saw the scene before him distort, and in the next moment, he was back in the yamen.

The Pure Yang True Qi covering the sword made a sizzling sound, as if burning something. A familiar aura had already seeped into his body through the sword.