Chapter 24: Fishermen and Capture
"Is this it?"
The one-armed wizard held up a candlestick to illuminate the woman's face.
"Witch Liu," the mage carefully examined Liu Hui from head to toe, "Yes, it's her."
"Look at this..."
"Of course yours will be included." The one-armed wizard said as he placed the candlestick among a pile of wine jugs on the table, then took out a purse from his arms, weighed it in his hand, and threw it to the thug who caught Liu Hui.
The two thugs immediately tried to snatch it, and Liu Hui took the opportunity to break free and run outside. However, the cell was full of wine jars, and she fell down after running a few steps.
The two thugs were horrified and rushed forward to grab her.
One of them grabbed Liu Hui's skirt and pulled her up, angrily saying, "Little girl, you're already here and you still want to run away? Don't cause trouble for us brothers."
As he said this, he raised his other hand and was about to hit him.
"Stop." The one-armed wizard stepped forward. "You can't touch Wu Zhu. Send Wu Zhu Liu to jail, and then you can leave."
"Yes, yes, I know I'm wrong. I'll do it right away. Right away."
The two thugs threw Liu Hui to the ground and flattered the one-armed mage, "If you need anything else, feel free to use me."
The black mask obscured the wizard's expression, and only one word could be heard from him.
"roll."
"I'll get out of here right now, right now."
The two ruffians retreated in fear until they could no longer see the one-armed wizard. Then they breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly opened the purse to count the gold and silver inside.
"Brother, you made a lot of money tonight."
The prison guard was a little jealous when he saw the money bag in the gangster's hand, and said sourly.
"Thanks to you, brother, I'll treat you to a drink." The gangster generously stuffed a piece of gold into each of the two guards' hands.
He quickly put the one on the left into his mouth and took a bite. Seeing that it was real, he bowed and smiled, "Thank you very much."
The man on the right, who was spouting sour words, also put the gold into his arms and his tone became much friendlier: "Judging from your accent, you're from Liangzhou, right? Why are you thinking of making a fortune here?"
"I followed them here to sell furs, but was cheated by the southern barbarians." The thug spat. "If it were you, I shouldn't have done business with the people of Nanchu. I'd just kill them if I saw them."
"That's insightful," the guard nodded in agreement. "As expected of someone who's traveled extensively with the caravan, you're quite insightful. We should have a drink."
"One cup is not enough." The gangster laughed, "We are new here, so we need you to show us the way."
The guards looked at each other hesitantly: "I have to be on duty tonight."
"It's okay, it's okay, one drink will be fine." The thugs advised.
The guards refused several times, but finally agreed reluctantly.
The one-armed wizard heard the noise at the door and came out to investigate. The thugs had already left, and only two guards were left. His eyes were watching his nose and his nose was watching his heart, but his mind was distracted by the aroma of wine.
The cell was converted from a small courtyard on the street. There was an open space outside, which was used by vendors to sell their wares during the day. At night, only a trembling locust tree was left in the middle.
Tonight, a bamboo cage was set up under the locust tree, and more and more people holding torches gathered, lighting up the open space like daylight.
The officers came to question with their swords hilts in hand, but were blocked by the masked mages. The two sides were deadlocked, and only someone could be heard shouting:
"Master Zhizhuang is here."
Then a fat figure in a black robe was seen walking towards the confrontation, surrounded by mages in front and behind.
The officers looked at each other and had no choice but to salute Ji Zhuang.
"You are all here for official business." Ji Zhuang raised his hand. "It's just a small ceremony. I will preside over it myself. You can rest assured."
"The Imperial Master is busy with many affairs every day..." An official was stopped by his superiors before he could finish his words.
"Since the Imperial Master wants to pray for the people, then I will not disturb you."
Witnessing the majesty of Ji Zhuang, the believers who were already eager for the arrival of the Imperial Master knelt down in front of Ji Zhuang, chanting prayers and praying for the Imperial Master's blessing.
Ji Zhuang enjoyed the worship of the crowd and his mood became more and more excited.
"Witches can make mistakes, and they must be punished."
Ji Zhuang raised his hands high to accept the response from heaven and earth.
"But Wu Zhu is the god's messenger, so how can he be punished in the mortal world? Naturally, we must send him back to heaven and bring Wu Zhu Liu out!"
At this time, the one-armed wizard shouted softly and came forward with two guards escorting Liu Hui, who was wearing a black robe and black mask.
Liu Hui struggled all the way to Ji Zhuang.
Ji Zhuang muttered some incantations that no one else could understand, and used his hands to remove Liu Hui's mask.
"You still want to run away? It's not too late to beg for mercy now."
Xi Zhuang's little finger scratched Liu Hui's cheek.
"I would rather die." Liu Hui lowered her head and was about to bite.
Sha Zhuang smashed the mask hard on Liu Hui's face.
"I don't think you'll cry until you see the coffin," he whispered to the one-armed wizard, "Take her away first."
The cell was used to hold mages who had committed offenses. Prayer music and chanting continued to come in through the narrow window. With the help of the firelight outside, Liu Hui felt for the bloodstains on the ground.
She had seen others die here before, and wondered if it was her turn tonight.
The prison was filled with the stink of alcohol, so the ruffians gave the guards a few cans of good wine.
The guards were afraid to drink at first, but the wine was so fragrant that the two of them persuaded each other to drink it all. Now they fell into a corner and fell asleep unconscious.
The wind blew in the middle of the night, and the cold air seeped through the stone slabs. Liu Hui folded her arms and walked back and forth in the cell.
Wine was a must in every Shamanic ritual, and the sounds of drunken people reveling made her feel distracted.
"Squeak."
Suddenly, a faint voice mixed in the noise came into Liu Hui's ears.
"Who is it!" Liu Hui grabbed the wooden bars of the cell, and she didn't even realize that her voice had become distorted.
"Shh, keep your voice down." Qiu Xuan walked in quietly.
"It's really you." Liu Hui's tears welled up, "I thought you weren't coming."
"Don't cry yet, it's not over yet."
Qiu Xuan held the dagger in her hand, pointed it at the guard's throat, and used the blade to pick the key out of the guard's arms.
"I'll untie it for you first."
Liu Hui escaped from the cell and subconsciously grabbed Qiu Xuan's arm.
"Take this off." Qiu Xuan reminded.
Liu Hui quickly threw the black robe on the ground as if avoiding the plague god.
Qiu Xuan advised, "There's someone waiting outside, you can go first."
Liu Hui hesitated for a moment and shook her head.
The two of them waited together in the cold cell for a while. Liu Hui couldn't help but ask, "Did you find a body that looked like mine?"
"No, young female corpses are not easy to find."
Qiu Xuan added, "I thought of another way."
It would be much easier to find a male mage to replace Liu Hui, and then find a corpse similar to the male mage to fake an accidental death.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a noise outside.
The two thugs who came in were escorting Liu Hui, or rather, Qiu Xuan’s two guards.
The stiff expressions of the two gave Qiu Xuan a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the guard said, "Madam, we've been exposed."
Qiu Xuan clenched the dagger and protected Liu Hui behind him.
A figure walked out from behind the two guards.
"Mr. Qiu's plan is not a failure, but I want to add two more tricks to the game."
Qiu Xuan heard Liu Hui scream behind her:
"Second Prince!"
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