Chapter 19

When Shuo, the Prefect, met Shen Lian in the living room, Shen Lian was already seated.

At that moment, Shen Lian was holding a teacup, sipping gently, with a delicate white mist rising from the cup.

Shuo, the Prefect, was a man of discernment, and the only word that came to his mind was "jade-like and ethereal."

He was a scholar by background and had met many talented scholars and aristocratic young men in his life.

Of course, there were those who were more handsome than Shen Lian, but none had his spirit.

There were those who were more radiant than Shen Lian, but none had his composure.

There were young men who were more mature than Shen Lian, but they lacked his natural ease and seemed more contrived.

First impressions were always important, and even if Shen Lian were not from the Shen family, Shuo, the Prefect, would still feel a sense of affinity.

When Shen Lian saw Shuo, the Prefect, he slowly put down his teacup and smiled in greeting.

Shuo, the Prefect, felt a sense of ancient camaraderie and sat down with a smile.

He said, "Young Master, what brings you to my office?"

"I am here to save you, sir," Shen Lian said softly, his voice low but clear.

Upon hearing these words, Shuo, the Prefect, was quite displeased, but he refrained from reacting due to the good impression Shen Lian had left and his identity.

Outside the door, the steward was on standby. He first heard a furious shout, unsure of what was happening and wondering whether to go in.

After a while, it became quiet again, leaving him puzzled. In the end, he saw the Prefect smiling as he escorted Shen Lian out and instructed him to take a letter and escort Shen Lian to the secret prison.

The steward detected a burnt smell from the Prefect and noticed that his usually plump and white hands were now covered with some paper ash.

******

The prison of Qingzhou was dirty and smelly, and even the jailers did not want to stay there for long.

However, Shen Lian, following the jailer, seemed quite at ease.

After passing through a corridor, they finally arrived at the deepest part of the prison.

This was an iron cell, used to detain the most vicious bandits.

The iron door had twelve locks, known as the "Golden Locks and Jade Bolts."

Even the most skilled thief would need the time to drink a cup of tea to open this lock.

The iron door was slowly opened, and inside, there was no expected stench, but it was very stuffy.

This was the second time Shen Lian saw the man in the green robe.

The scene from their first encounter was vivid in his mind, and he still remembered the man's arrogance and self-confidence.

The man's shoulder blades were pierced with iron chains, and his hands and feet were shackled, locked in a corner.

The jailer lit an oil lamp, and under the dim light, the man's face was covered with a beard, and his hair was disheveled.

Shen Lian wanted to take a step forward, but the jailer immediately stopped him, saying, "Young Master, don't get any closer. This month, several groups of people have come, and they all left lying down."

Shen Lian then looked around the cell. The lack of stench was due to the spaciousness of the cell, which was more like a large living room than a prison cell.

Shen Lian said, "You have pierced his shoulder blades with iron chains. How can he still harm anyone?"

He knew the reason but did not want others to realize he already knew.

The jailer nodded and said, "This man has some kind of sorcery. As soon as someone gets close, they fall down. I don't know how they managed to capture him in the first place."

He was still shaken by the memory. Since the man was captured, many martial artists had sneaked in, but all of them died in the prison, and the jailers had to clean up the mess.

Fortunately, as long as one stayed a few yards away, the man would not attack.

The Shen family originally intended to execute the man, but they could not get close to him after he woke up.

Moreover, even after a month without water, the man had not died.

The old jailer said that such martial artists had unique skills, allowing them to hibernate like bears and snakes, conserving energy and surviving for a long time without food or water.

However, this man, who could harm people without physical contact and survive for a month without food or water, was far more formidable than those animals.

Meanwhile, the Prefect had received a secret order from his superiors to transfer the man to the capital, so he ignored the man and waited for the capital's officials to take him away.

If it weren't for Shen Lian's letter from the Prefect, the jailer would not have come here today.

The man in the green robe opened his eyes, which shone like stars in the night, dazzling and intense.

Shen Lian was moved; the man seemed even more powerful than the first time they met.

This was a unique feeling, hard to verify.

The man glanced at the jailer beside Shen Lian, and the jailer fell down as if struck by a knife.

In modern times, those with extremely high martial arts skills had a technique called "eye strike." Shen Lian had read about it in a martial arts novel and now understood what it was.

He believed he could achieve it, but he was still missing something.

It was like having a fortune but not knowing how to use it or make it circulate.

To make the fortune work.

The jailer thought the distance was safe, but he did not know that the man's so-called "God-Slaying Sword" might not have reached this far before, but the man had improved and was no longer the same.

Of course, there was another possibility: the man was holding back.

In any case, only two people were left in the cell.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Shen Lian. The reason the government is after you is because of my grandfather."

"The Shen family of Qingzhou?" The man's voice was hoarse, as if his mouth was dry and lacked moisture.

"So you've heard of us."

"I don't seem to have any grudges with the Shen family, and they don't have much to do with the martial world."

"Do you remember that a month ago, you killed two young men? They were my grandfather's grandsons and my cousins."

"So that's the reason. This makes sense now," the man said, as if he had finally found the answer to a long-standing question.

"You don't seem to hate me," Shen Lian said curiously. After all, he was from the Shen family, yet the man did not hold a grudge.

"People come to kill me, and I kill them. What is there to hate? In my life, I have only hated one person, and only one person deserves my hatred. Others are not worth my attention," the man said calmly.

Shen Lian thought, "This man is so formidable for a reason."

"Do you want to know why I'm here?"

"I can teach you the God-Slaying Sword. Even if you hadn't come, I would have found you in the next few days."

"Why?"

This time, it was Shen Lian's turn to ask. He had not expected that after all the effort, the man would voluntarily seek him out and teach him the "God-Slaying Sword."

The man's words also implied that he could leave the prison at any time, unaffected by the iron chains through his shoulder blades.

Shen Lian realized he still knew too little about the martial world. This was not a martial arts novel but a bizarre world with mysterious martial arts and even divine powers.

The experience he gained from reading martial arts and fantasy novels did not have much use here.

At that moment, Shen Lian heard a strange sound of a wooden fish, faint and continuous, but he could not tell where it was coming from.

PS: Thank you to Xisha, Duitian·Lusifa, Shuyan, Dugu Feeling, virus_W, and Zhuan Kang Teammates for your generous donations, as well as Huajin Qianfeng, Feide Genggao L, Tàxuě Fēihuā, Yīduī Shuǐhuò, Yuánzǐlǐ de Kuàkè, and Xīqīng Fǎshī.