Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Dark Prison of the Government Office
The government office in Luoyang.
It was nearly midnight, and all was quiet outside the wall, save for the distant, intermittent beat of the night watchman's drum. A slender figure flashed past, moving with incredible speed, leaving only a fleeting, wispy afterimage. Inside the government office, it was also eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional hooting of a night bird.
Based on the previously seen topographical map, the woman quickly headed towards the backyard of the government office. According to inside information, there was a secret dungeon in this backyard, specifically for detaining prisoners who required discreet handling, and it was not open to ordinary outsiders.
Climbing over the courtyard wall, the woman looked out over the unobstructed back garden and was startled. Though the night was deep, the faint moonlight revealed a beautiful sea of flowers. Large swathes of chrysanthemums of various colors swayed gently in the night breeze, carrying a faint, delicate fragrance. Where was the hidden prison? It was clearly a scene of "picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, gazing leisurely at the southern mountains."
Mu Lian took out her tools, lay down on the ground, and listened carefully. Sure enough, faint screams could be heard coming from underground. It seemed that the dark prison was indeed here, but the entrance would probably be hard to find.
A thought flashed through her mind, and Mu Lian covered her lips, mimicking a few bird calls. Meng Yuan, who was guarding the front, heard the signal and instantly understood. A short while later, flames suddenly erupted in the front courtyard of the government office, and an old voice cried out in panic, "It's terrible, there's a fire..."
Then a young servant shouted, "Help! There's a fire!"
Then it seemed as if an official was roaring: "You damned fool, hurry up and put out the fire..."
It seemed as if the woman's panicked screams, the neighing of horses in the stable, and the shouts of people scrambling to put out the fire could be heard again—it was quite a scene.
Upon hearing the commotion, the guards who had been lying in ambush inside the government office looked at each other in bewilderment. The government office had clearly been cleared of people today, so why were there so many people suddenly here?
"The bandits are numerous, brothers, be careful..." The deputy general waved his hand, and the guards took the opportunity to go out.
Hearing the commotion, Meng Yuan chuckled and quietly hid. "My ventriloquism skills are more than enough to fool a bunch of good-for-nothings like you."
The guards rushed out aggressively, but apart from a few fires burning in the courtyard, there was no sign of the thief.
"Oh no, we've been tricked..." The lieutenant quickly realized what had happened and waved for everyone to retreat.
But it was too late. The courtyard had already been covered in a layer of dust, which, upon encountering the open flame, burst into flames with a crackling sound. The guards, unable to retreat in time, were blasted into the air with screams.
The commotion in the front yard was so great that the guards in the back yard rushed to provide reinforcements. One of Liu Zhang's trusted men unlocked the secret prison mechanism and hurried up the steps to take charge of the situation. The night wind ruffled the man's clothes, but he didn't bother to check and quickened his pace.
Behind that man was Mu Lian, who rolled past. The tip of the sword was caught precisely where the dark prison door was closing, leaving just a tiny gap.
What an ingenious design! If the guards in the backyard hadn't been mobilized just now, Mu Lian wouldn't have been able to determine the approximate location of the secret prison from the vast sea of flowers.
Using the tip of her sword, Mu Lian carefully pried open the still-open door to the dark prison and quietly descended the stone steps. In the dim starlight, Mu Lian could see that the stone steps wound and twisted, leading deeper into the earth. There seemed to be a stench mixed with the smell of blood in the air, and she could vaguely hear screams of agony.
To avoid alerting the enemy, Mu Lian didn't use a tinderbox, relying entirely on her eyesight and hearing. The further down she went, the stronger the stench of blood became, and the clearer the screams grew. Mu Lian unconsciously gripped her sword tighter.
As you round the corner, light gradually appears. A quick glance around reveals a room closest to the exit displaying various human bones. From skulls to toe bones, from teeth to genitals, everything is there, neatly arranged in rows of glass jars, as if exhibiting the achievements of their owner.
Mu Lian glanced at it, and a skull clearly belonging to a child sent chills down her spine. Such a small child couldn't even have a complete corpse after death—truly wicked!
Her eyes grew even colder. Mu Lian adjusted the black mask on her face and leaped forward. The woman's figure was like smoke and mist, so fast that it was impossible to see clearly. But Mu Lian could clearly see the situation inside the cell doors on both sides of the corridor.
Ah Jiu, the youngest but most clever member of the scout group, was covered in bruises from being whipped. Ah Liu, who had endured the torture of branding with hot irons, had a rotten chest. Ah Wu and Ah Si, who were at the front and submerged in a filthy water dungeon, were on the verge of death. Two other people were nowhere to be found, likely having met their demise.
Mu Lian closed her eyes, concealing the grief and indignation in her heart, and drew her sword.
"Who goes there?" The guards inside the prison finally heard the noise and shouted.
With a flash of sword light, the guard's throat was instantly slit. The remaining guards also collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony, within just two or three moves.
With icy eyes, Mu Lian used her black iron dagger to cut open the prison gate and rescue the prisoners one by one.
"My lord?" Ajiu, covered in wounds, was startled awake from her unconsciousness. When she saw the person in front of her, she spoke in a trembling voice.
Mu Lian nodded and carefully untied Ajiu from the wooden stake, letting him lean against the side.
"My lord, save, save my brother..." Ah Jiu gasped.
"Yes, don't worry..." Mu Lian nodded vigorously.
Ah Jiu and Ah Liu are brothers. When Ah Liu entered the Judicial Office, he worried that his younger brother would be left unattended, so he specifically asked Mu Lian to take him in with him. After that, the two of them became clerks in the Judicial Office together. This time, Ah Jiu was not originally required to come on the reconnaissance mission, but upon hearing that it was to Luo City, he begged Mu Lian to go on the mission with his brother. After all, Luo City was their hometown, which they had not seen for many years.
After rescuing Ajiu and Aliu, Mu Lian hurried to rescue the two prisoners in the water dungeon. The water dungeon was designed in a very tricky way; the prisoners were suspended in the very center of the dungeon, with no way to grab them from any direction except for a circular iron rope binding their hands from above. The water in the dungeon was already filthy, mixed with the smell of blood, rotting flesh, and excrement, and many flies and insects were flying around.
Mu Lian covered her mouth and nose, used the black iron dagger to break through the water-sealed door, and pondered how to quickly rescue the people.
Hearing the noise, Ah Wu struggled to open his swollen eyelids. Through the blur, he seemed to see a slender figure and asked breathlessly, "M-Master?"
"Yes. Mu Lian has come to rescue you two." Suppressing her grief, Mu Lian said.
"No, no need, no need..." Ah Wu shook his head weakly. He and Ah Si had been soaking in this water dungeon for ten days. Their bodies below the chest were already covered in rotting flesh, and their legs and feet had long since turned into bones. Now, they were just barely clinging to life.
“You…” Mu Lian was overcome with grief. She could have used her dagger to cut the ropes on the hanging rings and then leaped over to catch the two of them. But her eyesight was excellent, and as soon as she entered the water prison, she could see that their bodies underwater were no longer usable.
"My lord, give me... a quick death..." The dying Ah Si opened his eyes. Their bodies had long been soaked in sewage and were completely rotten. They suffered from insects and flies biting them every day, and every day they lived was another day of suffering.
Mu Lian closed her eyes briefly, then nodded with tears in her eyes. She took two "Peace Pills" from her sleeve and leaped forward, placing one in each of their mouths. These "Peace Pills," as the name suggests, are a type of poison, but they don't cause a painful death. Instead, they allow the person to die while reminiscing about the beautiful and happy moments of their life. It's a secret medicine newly developed by Meng Luan of the Judicial Office.
"Thank you, sir..." Ah Si and Ah Wu thanked him with smiles, their expressions serene.
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