TDFM Chapter 121

In A Dream

 

The Ministry of Justice’s prison was located in the southwest corner of the Ministry building, a place considered the “gate of death” in feng shui.

 

As a precaution, Yun Qing had set up two formations outside the Ministry of Justice prison, Dream Submersion and Obstruction of Sight. She had used the former at Huayang Mountain before, while the latter could temporarily blind people.

 

After activating the Dream Submersion formation, they had entered the prison smoothly.

 

The prisoners and guards had all fallen into deep sleep, with snores rising everywhere. Some guards had been drinking before sleep and still held chopsticks and wine cups in their hands, with unchewed food still hanging from their mouths.

 

Yun Qing had awakened a guard who carried keys at his waist.

 

When the guard opened his eyes and saw four men and women pointing sword blades at his neck, he had blinked in confusion, thinking it was a dream. After a moment, he finally realized it wasn’t a dream and was so frightened that he wet himself, his legs shaking as he continuously begged for mercy.

 

Yun Qing said, “Where is Prime Minister Cheng’s son imprisoned?”

 

The man had assumed they were there to take revenge on him and answered sincerely, “Heroine, spare my life! This truly has nothing to do with this humble person. It was the higher-ups who forbade him from seeing anyone – this humble person dared not disobey orders!

 

I already gave him the things the Cheng family sent. This humble person has been diligent and careful in serving him, not daring to mistreat Young Master Cheng in the slightest!”

 

“I’m asking you, where is he?”

 

“He’s in cell number one in the Heaven section. Just walk straight along the corridor and you’ll find it. Here are the keys – please, honored ones, take your time!”

 

He had been quite sensible.

 

Yun Qing had taken the keys, politely thanked him, then lightly tapped his Baihui acupoint, causing him to fall asleep again.

 

The four of them had taken the keys and walked deeper into the prison.

 

It was dark and damp there, with the air filled with stench and moldy odors. Ci Li had sneezed several times. A cat’s sense of smell was much more sensitive than a human’s, so this place was indeed more difficult for him to bear.

 

Sleeping rats were scattered on the ground, visible every few steps. Fu Xue had accidentally kicked one and made a disgusted “ugh” sound.

 

When they reached the end, a large black iron door appeared before them. Yun Qing had opened the lock – clang, clang – the chains fell away, and she pushed open the iron door.

 

Just as the group was about to enter, Ci Li had suddenly made a strange “eh” sound.

 

Jiang Baiyu asked. “What’s wrong?”

 

Ci Li answered, “The smell here is somewhat different from outside.”

 

Fu Xue sniffed and said, “It seems less stinky?”

 

“No, there’s a scent of Liu Yi clay here.”

 

Liu Yi clay was generally used to seal pill furnaces. Fu Xue had then speculated, “Perhaps the previous person imprisoned here was a Taoist who frequently refined pills.”

 

The group entered the cell. There were no lights inside, so Fu Xue had blown on a fire starter and lit a candle.

 

The cell was about ten feet square and relatively clean, with no rats on the floor. A small window opened on the wall, with a patch of sky and scattered stars visible outside.

 

In the corner of the cell, against the wall, was a narrow wooden bed. Beside the bed were piled many items – things that Madam Song had arranged for Cheng Suiyan, food, clothing, and daily necessities, all complete, even including a red sandalwood chamber pot with gold trim.

 

Cheng Suiyan was still wearing the same clothes he had worn to the palace banquet that day. He was lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, a brocade quilt covering him to his chest. Because he was too tall, his feet in black court boots protruded from the foot of the bed.

 

He had been sleeping.

 

Fu Xue laughed. “The young master certainly knows how to enjoy himself.” She walked to the bedside and placed a Clear Heart sachet near Cheng Suiyan’s nose. After a while, he slowly awakened.

 

Cheng Suiyan opened his eyes and first saw the smiling Fu Xue, then Yun Qing, then Baiyu, and Ci Li.

 

He jumped up from the bed excitedly. “How did you come here? I’m not dreaming, am I?!”

 

Fu Xue said, “Why couldn’t we come? There’s nowhere in this world we can’t go.” Then she put her hands on her hips, looked at Cheng Suiyan, and asked, “Hey, did you get beaten?”

 

“No,” Cheng Suiyan shook his head. Apart from his hair not being as neat as during the day, he didn’t look particularly disheveled. He said, “I’m fine, don’t worry. Father and Mother must be very anxious at home, right?”

 

“They are quite anxious. Princess Anping has already told us the truth. I wonder if you’re foolish – why didn’t you run?”

 

Cheng Suiyan only smiled and shook his head, “If I had fled, wouldn’t that confirm my guilt? Then it would implicate my father. Now, having gone through this ordeal in prison, there’s more room for maneuvering. I’ll let the old man worry about the rest.

 

Besides, His Majesty’s anger today was half real and half fake – part of it was meant to pressure me into marrying Princess Anping. By suffering a bit in prison, I can somewhat shut his mouth.”

 

Yun Qing thought to herself that the ways of officialdom were far less clear-cut than the path of cultivation.

 

Jiang Baiyu said, “In that case, the Emperor still trusts you.”

 

“Naturally. Not only me – His Majesty is also very curious about all of you. He asked about you several times today.”

 

Ci Li said, “No wonder that Imperial Preceptor Xu acted desperately and stirred up trouble.”

 

Cheng Suiyan asked in confusion, “What are you talking about? What happened to Imperial Preceptor Xu?”

 

The group had explained to him, and after hearing it, Cheng Suiyan had said angrily,

 

“That Imperial Preceptor Xu’s intentions are truly vicious. Since ancient times, what emperors fear most is instability of their realm. His Majesty also greatly believes in immortals and Taoists. If he whispers poison in his ear a few more times, His Majesty will inevitably become suspicious.”

 

Jiang Baiyu frowned and said, “An evil little man – we should just kill him.”

 

Suddenly, a loud voice came from outside the window, “Little brat, who do you want to kill?”

 

Everyone was startled. Without discussion, they had all stepped toward the exit together. However, when they reached the doorway, though the prison door was clearly wide open, they seemed to hit an invisible wall and couldn’t get out.

 

This wall had no elasticity – it wasn’t an air barrier.

 

The group immediately understood that this cell had been placed under a restriction!

 

To be able to set up a restriction without their awareness, this person was definitely a master.

 

Ci Li transformed into a small cat and flew toward the iron window, then unsurprisingly crashed into the restriction and bounced back. He had rolled on the ground and transformed back into human form.

 

Jiang Baiyu activated the Caihen Sword and tried slashing at the cell’s surroundings, ceiling, and floor, then shook his head at Yun Qing. It was no use.

 

Yun Qing’s heart sank. A restriction that even Baiyu couldn’t break – she couldn’t imagine how high the opponent’s cultivation level was.

 

She steadied herself and called out loudly, “Who are you, sir?”

 

The voice outside the window had answered, “I am the person you wanted to kill.”

 

“Is he Imperial Preceptor Xu?” Fu Xue had whispered to Yun Qing. “This Imperial Preceptor Xu – his cultivation is that high?”

 

Yun Qing also felt it didn’t make sense. With cultivation at such a level, he should have some reputation in the martial world, but she had never heard of Imperial Preceptor Xu’s great name before.

 

If he was a hermit master, that would be even less reasonable – what hermit master would willingly serve a mortal emperor?

 

As the group pondered, they suddenly saw a group of scarecrows walking toward them outside the prison door. Whoever had made these scarecrows was certainly skillful – they looked quite realistic, with complete limbs and facial features, even hair buns.

 

The scarecrows had walked quickly and silently. They had crowded together at the prison entrance, working together to push the door, slowly closing the heavy iron gate.

 

In the instant before the iron door closed, Yun Qing had glimpsed through the crack that two more rows of scarecrows were approaching from far down the corridor. These newcomers had worked in pairs, each pair carrying a wooden bucket – she didn’t know what was inside.

 

With a clang, the iron door had completely closed.

 

Then, rustling sounds came from outside the iron door. Soon, a peculiar earthy scent had spread – this time, even the others besides Ci Li had smelled it.

 

It was Liu Yi clay.

 

Fu Xue knocked on the iron door and said, “Are these scarecrows sealing the prison door with Liu Yi clay? Why?”

 

Cheng Suiyan shouted toward the window, “Hey, Imperial Preceptor Xu, what are you trying to do?”

 

Imperial Preceptor Xu laughed heartily, “What am I trying to do? Isn’t it obvious enough?”

 

Yun Qing stroked her chin and said, “As everyone knows, Liu Yi clay is used to seal pill furnaces. He’s sealing the prison door with Liu Yi clay, which means he intends to use this cell as a pill furnace.”

 

Cheng Suiyan was stunned, “As a pill furnace? Such a large pill furnace – what is he trying to refine?”

 

Ci Li rolled his eyes and said, “What else could he refine? Besides us, what else is in this cell? Is he going to refine your noble chamber pot?”

 

“He wants to refine us? He wants to refine living people?” Cheng Suiyan had cursed toward the window, “Evil Taoist, are you mad? You want to refine living people?!”

 

“Hahahahaha!” Another burst of laughter – Imperial Preceptor Xu’s voice had sounded very pleased. “I’ll be frank with you – this master has already refined ninety-six cultivators. I only need four more, and my Soul Tower will be complete!

 

Since you appeared in the capital, I’ve been thinking about how to lure you into this pill furnace. Mmm——” He had sighed in intoxication. “You should feel honored to become part of my Soul Tower!”

 

Yun Qing muttered to herself, “So he’s an evil cultivator of the Heavenly Soul Path after all.”

 

The main technique of the Heavenly Soul Path was to refine others’ souls to build a Soul Tower. Initially, they refined ordinary people, but as their cultivation improved, they needed to refine cultivators. As the Soul Tower grew stronger, they needed to refine cultivators of even higher levels.

 

This Imperial Preceptor Xu’s Soul Tower seemed to accept anything – he was indiscriminate about what he consumed, indicating his Soul Tower wasn’t very impressive.

 

This also suggested that Imperial Preceptor Xu’s own cultivation was mediocre.

 

So a mediocre cultivator like Imperial Preceptor Xu was unlikely to set up such a powerful restriction.

 

Yun Qing and Jiang Baiyu exchanged glances – both had thought of this point.

 

Cheng Suiyan cursed toward the window, “You madman! If His Majesty knew about this, he definitely wouldn’t spare you!”

 

“I cultivate the Soul Tower also to better refine longevity pills for His Majesty. His Majesty certainly won’t blame me. It’s just the death of one prime minister’s son – don’t think too highly of yourself!”

 

He had spoken arrogantly, then suddenly said “eh” and continued,

 

“I’ve refined ninety-six cultivators and now only need four more, but you have five people. Tsk, tsk, tsk, this master has decided to be magnanimous and spare one life. Sigh, I’m always too softhearted.”

 

The five people in the cell had looked at each other. Fu Xue couldn’t help saying, “Why is this Imperial Preceptor so deranged? Did he damage his brain practicing evil techniques?”

 

Suddenly something had been thrown in through the iron window.

 

Cheng Suiyan, being closest, had caught it and unfolded it to see – it was a bag woven from blue jade pieces connected together, cool to the touch.

 

Imperial Preceptor Xu’s voice had come from outside, “This Fire-Avoiding Jade Garment can only be used by one person. You decide among yourselves who lives and who dies.”

 

Jiang Baiyu said, “Imperial Preceptor Xu, your real purpose is to watch us kill each other over a single fire-avoiding garment, isn’t it?

 

If I’m not mistaken, Qiguang Zi is behind this, right? Since he fell out with his own friends, he can’t stand to see others have friendships.”

 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, think whatever you want. In any case, I’m very much looking forward to seeing which one will walk out in the end. Children, seal the furnace for me and light the fire!”

 

The small window had been covered, and the sky and stars had disappeared.

 

Rustling sounds of applying Liu Yi clay had come from all around the cell. Once the clay was applied, the pill furnace would be lit, and they would be roasted alive.

 

Cheng Suiyan stomped hard on the floor – the floorboards had made thumping sounds. He had said, “It’s hollow underneath – that must be where they’ll light the fire.”

 

Yun Qing removed the Neat Family from her wrist and chanted an incantation.

 

However, the Neat Family had shown no response.

 

At this moment, her expression had finally changed drastically as she said, “The restriction on this cell not only limits people’s movement but also restricts magical treasures.”

 

The others were also shocked and quickly took out their magical treasures to test them – every single treasure had remained motionless.

 

Despair had surged in their hearts.

 

Fu Xue said, “We’re finished, finished! We can’t get out, we’re all going to turn into roasted meat! Ah, I don’t want to die yet, and I especially don’t want to become roasted meat, and even more especially don’t want to be turned into roasted meat by a deranged evil cultivator!”

 

****

 

In the golden cage, Le Chenzi had looked furious.

 

This seemed to be the first time he had been so angry since being locked in the cage.

 

“So, just to prove their friendship isn’t solid, you’re going to burn several children to death? How despicable are you?”

 

Qiguang Zi had said, “Everyone dies eventually. To die by my hand is not a waste of life.”

 

“You…! How can there be such a shameless person…”

 

“Aren’t you curious about how they’ll choose?”

 

Le Chenzi had said, “You already know the answer in your heart, don’t you?”

 

Qiguang Zi had remained silent.

 

Le Chenzi continued, “If none of them chooses that Fire-Avoiding Jade Garment, can you at least leave the children with intact souls? They’ve been unlucky enough to encounter you in this lifetime – let them reincarnate properly.”

 

“I told you, you have no right to negotiate terms with me.”

 

“Hmph, then just wait for my disciple to beat you to smithereens! She’ll definitely come riding on colorful clouds to rescue me!”

 

“Huh?” Having lived for over a thousand years, Qiguang Zi had seen many boasters, but this was the first time he had been left speechless by someone’s bragging.

 

****

 

Yun Qing had tried to activate the Obstruction of Sight formation, but it hadn’t been able to stop those scarecrows – after all, they weren’t living people. That deranged Imperial Preceptor Xu had also disappeared somewhere, and she didn’t know if he had been affected.

 

Cheng Suiyan handed the Fire-Avoiding Jade Garment in his hands to Fu Xue, comforting her, “Don’t panic yet. Let’s think of another solution.”

 

Fu Xue took the Fire-Avoiding Jade Garment, unfolded it to look, then held it out to Yun Qing, “Senior Sister, for you.”

 

Yun Qing waved her hand at Fu Xue without saying a word.

 

Fu Xue had thought that ordinary fire probably couldn’t kill her senior sister anyway, so giving it to her would indeed be a waste. She had then offered the Fire-Avoiding Jade Garment to Ci Li, saying, “Little cat, you must survive and avenge me when you get out.”

 

Ci Li took the fire-avoiding garment, examined it in his hands, then suddenly asked her, “Why did your master name you Fu Xue?”

 

Fu Xue was startled by the question, “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

 

“Did he ever tell you?”

 

“No,” Fu Xue shook her head. “But it’s not hard to guess, right? It must be because when I was born, the pear blossoms happened to bloom, and the white petals fell on the water surface, looking like floating snowflakes. Is this hard to understand?”

 

Ci Li scoffed and said, “Fool.”

 

She looked completely baffled, “Hey.” At least have a reason for insulting someone! This cat had gone crazy.

 

Ci Li threw the fire-avoiding garment back to her.

 

Fu Xue then gave the fire-avoiding garment back to Cheng Suiyan, who had given it to Jiang Baiyu, but Jiang Baiyu had waved it away without taking it.

 

Finally, Cheng Suiyan had thrown the fire-avoiding garment on the ground, “Forget it. If we die, we die together. A chance at survival bought with friends’ lives is meaningless.”

 

Yun Qing took out her bronze divination coins and tossed them in the air.

 

One, two, three, four, five, six.

 

She quietly looked at the bronze coins in her palm and muttered to herself, “So that’s how it is.”

 

Seeing this, Jiang Baiyu asked softly, “Yun Qing, have you discovered something?”

 

Yun Qing said, “Don’t you all feel something is wrong?”

 

Fu Xue thought for a moment and said, “Besides that Imperial Preceptor Xu being deranged, nothing else seems wrong. But…” She had scratched her head in confusion. “I feel like these past few days have gone by quickly. I’ve been eating and eating.”

 

Jiang Baiyu said, “I also feel time has passed quickly.”

 

Cheng Suiyan, “Now that you mention it, I seem to feel the same way.”

 

Ci Li nodded, “Me too.”

 

“Your feelings are correct, because——” She extended her hand, showing everyone the bronze coins in her palm. “We are in a dream.”