Chapter 26

Is it self-funded?

Yang Yu's eyes flickered for a moment, but he said nothing.

Recalling the cold-faced bailiff, it was hard to imagine that he had such a warm heart.

Suppressing his thoughts, Yang Yu began to chat with the old jailer about family matters.

The jailer's name was Wang San, the most senior person in the prison. According to his own account, he became a jailer at sixteen and was now sixty-six.

He had no children, and he ate, drank, and lived in the prison, not having left the prison gates for many years.

The job of a jailer was even more leisurely than Yang Yu had imagined. Throughout the day, apart from chatting with the old jailer, nothing else happened.

Escorting prisoners to the mines for labor was naturally not his responsibility.

"Alright, you'll get used to it. Our job is like this; you can do whatever you want, even sleep, as long as the prisoners don't escape."

The old jailer, with a pipe in his mouth, walked away slowly.

Yang Yu watched the old jailer leave, digesting his words.

The Black Mountain City prison was quite large, and he alone had to guard a large area with about forty prisoners.

The number of jailers in Black Mountain City far exceeded the number of bailiffs, with over a hundred at its peak.

"Four thousand prisoners, which one is the target of the Liansheng Sect?"

Yang Yu stroked his chin, thinking to himself.

He had not forgotten the purpose of entering the prison.

In his conversation with Wang Er, he confirmed that many new jailers had indeed entered the prison in recent months due to the killings of old jailers.

However, the Black Mountain City prison was vast, with a hundred jailers and four thousand prisoners, making it impossible to determine which ones were members of the Liansheng Sect.

And what was the target of the Liansheng Sect?

After pondering for a while, Yang Yu picked up the oil lamp and began to patrol the cells.

The entire Black Mountain prison was interconnected, with the jurisdictions of the hundred jailers linked together. Each jurisdiction had ten cells.

Inside, there might be one or two, or four or five prisoners, depending on the severity of their crimes, with different levels of management and treatment.

The cells he was responsible for mostly housed prisoners with serious crimes but not deserving of death.

Yang Yu patrolled each cell, where the prisoners were either numb, indifferent, or hysterically shouting, but all were emaciated and ragged.

The Great Ming Code was extremely strict about the death penalty.

The founder, Zhang Yuanchu, believed that human life was a creation of heaven, and only the "Son of Heaven" had the authority to decide life and death.

Therefore, no state, prefecture, or county had the right to execute prisoners.

Only after reporting the death penalty and receiving approval from the court could the executions be carried out in the autumn.

However, maintaining these prisoners was a huge expense, and many county prisons would reduce their food rations and increase their labor.

Many prisoners died in the prison as a result.

When relatives came to protest, they would only receive the response, "died of fear of punishment."

The first day as a jailer passed by as Yang Yu wandered around, and the following days were similar.

Without any leads, he was not in a hurry.

He would slack off at work, seemingly sleeping but actually practicing his internal breathing, and at night, he would soak in a medicinal bath while refining the new ingredient, "yellowed ancient book," in the Cauldron of Gluttony.

One blood change was just the beginning; there were second and third blood changes to come.

The strength of blood qi not only determined the strength of internal qi but also constrained the progress of martial arts.

One blood change allowed the cultivation of internal breathing and external hard techniques to the third level.

The Iron Crotch Technique and the internal breathing method each had nine levels.

Yang Yu would not stop the blood changes.

In his spare time, he wandered through the various stalls, shops, and even pawnshops on the north-south streets, looking for other ingredients.

Unfortunately, he only found a handkerchief recording the "Wind Chasing Steps."

The market often sold new items, and there was no place to buy old items.

After all, in a place like Black Mountain City, there were no "elegant scholars" who appreciated antiques and calligraphy.

Finding one item was already quite difficult.

Half a month passed in this way.

Perhaps because he already knew the Iron Crotch Technique, this refinement went surprisingly smoothly, and it took only about ten days to complete.

He obtained the Iron Crotch Technique from the ancient book.

Indeed, with a comparison, Yang Yu found that the same Iron Crotch Technique, when refined in the Cauldron of Gluttony, seemed no different.

However, just a few subtle changes allowed him to successfully master the Iron Crotch Technique on the first day after refining the ancient book.

"Iron Crotch Technique, finally mastered."

In a dark corner of the prison, Yang Yu slowly exhaled, feeling a sense of joy.

At the same time, he felt a difference in his body.

Warm internal qi flowed to his crotch, as if covering it with a layer of iron armor, and the strength in his waist and abdomen increased significantly.

The increase in strength was enough; he was unwilling and dared not test whether it could withstand heavy blows or even blades.

"The source of human strength lies in the waist and hips. The increase in waist and hip strength indirectly increases my overall strength."

Yang Yu was satisfied:

"According to the Iron Crotch Technique, this is the first level? The internal breathing method is progressing faster, probably reaching the second level..."

His progress was not limited to this.

Closing his eyes slightly, the progress bars on the cauldron wall were clear:

【Blood Change: Progress (16/100) Second Blood Change】

【Old Mother's Internal Breathing Record: Progress (9/100) First Level】

【Iron Crotch Technique: Progress (3/100) First Level】

【Wind Chasing Steps: Progress (25/100) Third Level】

In half a month, Yang Yu's progress was remarkably fast.

Not only did he cultivate the internal breathing method to the second level, but he also practiced the Wind Chasing Steps to the third level.

After consuming some "iron beads" to replenish his strength and the Cauldron of Gluttony, Yang Yu stood up.

He first stretched his muscles and bones, then moved to practice with a broken sword, combining sword techniques and the Wind Chasing Steps.

The progress of martial arts skills was not constrained by the level of blood qi.

"Unfortunately, my sword technique has no progress, perhaps because I haven't obtained a complete sword technique?"

While practicing, Yang Yu had some plans.

The sword technique naturally fell on Old Wei.

He was almost certain that the ghost head sword could be refined as an ingredient!

However, he was not in a hurry but waited.

Autumn had arrived, and the execution ground was ready. The prisoners in the death row were about to leave with the autumn.

Tap tap tap~

After half an hour, Yang Yu's heart stirred, and he slowly stopped, looking towards the prison gate.

The person who arrived was the young bailiff who had sought Wei He that day.

"Yang Yu!"

The bailiff stopped at a distance, covering his nose and waving.

Yang Yu casually handed the prison key to another jailer and followed the bailiff out.

As expected.

The day of the autumn executions had arrived.

The old magistrate of Black Mountain City, known as "three feet high," rarely held court, but today he was to meet a particularly dangerous prisoner.

"This man is extremely dangerous. It is said that he has cultivated an external hard technique to a very high level. Many of our brothers died trying to capture him, including the magistrate's nephew."

The bailiff kept walking and talking, briefly explaining the situation to Yang Yu:

"Remember to execute this man first when you carry out the execution tomorrow at noon!"