Chapter 405: A Mysterious Cellblock
Xu Qing was still carrying out the slaughter. Hell personified was still on the move.
Truth be told, the Unit D jailers were both correct and incorrect. They were correct in that Xu Qing’s facial expression hadn’t changed at all during the slaughter. They were incorrect... that Xu Qing was controlling his emotions. In his life, he had climbed through piles of corpses. He had flirted with death. Twice had he faced the gaze of a god. Therefore, he didn’t need to control his emotions. To him, killing was an instinct.
If you hurt me, I kill you.
The inmates’ brutal ferocity had set their fate from the beginning. It didn’t matter if the setting was a prison or outside. Xu Qing wouldn’t hold back because the inmates suddenly lost courage. And he wouldn’t stop because of their anguished screams.
He continued moving. Continued attacking. He chased down one fleeing inmate after another, attacking them in vital spots. Using what he had learned in his training, he killed them one by one. Of course, he still needed more gold cores. And thus, many miserable shrieks rang out during the process.
Enough time passed for another half an incense stick to burn. At that point, Xu Qing stood amidst a host of corpses, holding the severed head of a Dualface cultivator in his left hand. The stench of gore filled the cellblock. Expression calm, Xu Qing looked toward the door and the jailers standing there with grave expressions on their faces.
“All done,” Xu Qing said, tossing the head down.
Looking very serious, the jailers all clasped hands and bowed deeply to Xu Qing.
In the front of the group was Ol’ Li. “Welcome to the Corrections Division, Brother Xu Qing!”
The jailers behind him echoed his words. “Welcome to the Corrections Division, Brother Xu Qing!”
The strong always received respect, wherever they went. It was the same in the Corrections Division. However, the jailers needed to see something beyond strength. They needed to see someone that was similar to them. If they saw that, they would give their approval. And if someone surpassed that, it would earn respect.
That was exactly what had happened with Xu Qing.
Xu Qing clasped hands and returned their salute. Inside, he could sense that his fifth heavenly palace was rapidly materializing.
“Can I do the same thing in another cell block?” he asked.
Hearing that, the Unit D jailers all looked back at him ruefully.
With a wry grin, Ol’ Li said, “Xu Qing, though we can deal with the inmates as we see fit, the reality is... we can’t just go around killing them all the time. In fact, you just reached this month’s quota for all of us here, combined. That said, don’t worry. We get new inmates all the time. And customarily, we’re allowed to dispose of the same amount that they bring in on a monthly basis.”
Ol’ Li opened the door and everyone went out. Along the way, Xu Qing spotted his bag of spirit stones.
The other jailers cleared their throats, exchanged glances, then took out spirit stones and handed them to Ol’ Li.
Accepting them, he sighed. “I went to all the trouble of bringing a newbie here, thinking I’d get rich. Who would have thought....?” Shaking his head, Ol’ Li distributed some of the spirit stones to five of the other jailers.
Chuckling happily, the other jailers took the spirit stones. They were the only ones who had bet on Xu Qing. Ol’ Li then gave the rest of the spirit stones to Xu Qing. Xu Qing had made a good decision about the bet, as had those five others. Most of the other jailers had bet that Xu Qing would last for a certain period of time. Ol’ Li served as the bookie. Clearly, though some people had bet on him winning, Xu Qing himself came out with the most profit. After all, he had bet the most.
He felt very pleased taking his spirit stones.
The other jailers all had cell blocks to manage, so they clasped hands and left. Then Ol Li’ took Xu Qing to register.
Along the way, his attitude was very different compared to before.
“Brother Xu Qing, I’m normally in charge of Level 35. If you have trouble with anything, just come find me. I can help out. Right now I’ll take you to register. You’ll get your own cell block and a jailer’s uniform. We’ll also keep a record of your aura so you can come and go as you please.”
Xu Qing nodded. As he passed the various cell blocks, he felt a bit of regret.
Ol’ Li noticed his expression and grinned. “There’s something you should consider. If you can dominate eighty-eight levels of Unit D, then you can get a promotion and become a Unit C jailer.” Ol’ Li’s grin wasn’t fake, it was very sincere. “If you become a Unit C jailer, then you can deal with prisoners however you want. No limitations. Furthermore, you can earn a lot more military credits.”
“You’re talking about the levels below 89?” Xu Qing asked. He had noted the talk about Unit C.
“That’s right. The Corrections Division is divided into Units A, B, C, and D. Level 88 and above are Unit D. Below Level 89 is Unit C. As for Units A and B, well, that’s beyond the scope of our authority. Truth be told, even just Unit C is mysterious enough. I’ve never been there, and I don’t know how many levels are in it.
“I just know that even the weakest inmates there are at the Nascent Soul level. And they’re far more brutal and ferocious than anyone in Unit D.”
Ol’ Li led Xu Qing to the registration office on Level 9. There, Xu Qing got his Corrections Division uniform with its black flames, and also left a record of his aura. He also got his cell block assignment.
“D-132.”
When Ol’ Li saw Xu Qing’s assigned cell block, he was shocked, and looked Xu Qing up and down a few times.
Xu Qing wasn’t sure what that meant. “Is something wrong?”
“D-132. Well, how to explain this…? It’s both very lucky and very unlucky, all at the same time. It’s on Level 57.” Ol’ Li’s expression was impossible to read.
Xu Qing frowned slightly.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with the inmates,” Ol’ Li went on. “Though the inmates there have a slightly stronger perverse energy than average, they’re still just Unit D inmates. The reason I say it’s unlucky is that about half of the jailers who get assigned this specific cell block eventually die on the outside under mysterious circumstances. Because of that, the cell block is considered inauspicious.
“Of course, not everyone assigned there dies. Some have no trouble at all. As for why it’s a lucky assignment, the reason is that our palace lord was in charge of D-132 back when he was a Gold Core cultivator. Furthermore, D-132 hasn’t had anyone formally in charge of it for nearly a hundred years.”
Xu Qing paid very close attention to all the information.
Hefting the jade slip that contained all the details about the D-132 inmates, he scanned it with divine will. There actually weren’t very many prisoners in D-132. Upon glancing over the basic information, Xu Qing didn’t notice anything unusual that stuck out. That said, he planned to do further digging once he got to D-132.
Xu Qing asked a few more questions about how things worked in the Corrections Division, and then finally left.
It was already evening outside.
It had been an eventful day as far as Xu Qing was concerned. He had been able to offer greetings to the palace lord, had been appointed as a jailer, had killed a bunch of inmates, and had pushed his fifth heavenly palace closer to full materialization.
Now I need to go build my sword pavilion. After examining all of the various sword pavilions of different heights and sizes, he went to the outermost ring, then made sure he was about 3,000 meters from the last sword pavilion in line. There, he stabbed his command sword into the ground.
The command sword erupted with dazzling light, then rumbling sounds echoed out as a 30-meter-tall sword pavilion rose up in front of him. Its general shape and structure was the same as the other sword pavilions.
30 meters was the standard starting height.
After forming the sword pavilion, Xu Qing retrieved his command sword and then entered the pavilion. Though it was only 30 meters on the outside, the inside was larger. It was laid out like an ordinary mansion grotto, with several rooms including a pill concocting chamber, an equipment forging alcove, a sleeping room, and a reception hall. There was also an energy convergence formation which ensured that the spirit energy was strong inside the pavilion. Doing breathing exercises inside would be very useful.
Because of all that, Xu Qing chose not to return to the subsidiary sect, and instead rested in the pavilion. Of course, he set up various defenses, including spell formations and poisons. Although the sword pavilion had formidable built-in defenses, Xu Qing wasn’t going to change his habits.
Sitting down cross-legged, he began meditating.
Time passed.
Sometime later he got a voice message from the Captain. The testing was done for the new swordsages, and the Captain flauntingly explained that he had a new post.
“The Swordsage Palace obviously values your Eldest Brother quite a bit, as they assigned me work in the Credit Auditing Branch!
“That chick Qing Qiu got assigned to Inspections. Kong Xianglong is in the Field Operations Office, where he’s in charge of tracking down criminals. Of all the new swordsages, only five, including you, were assigned to civil posts. Oh right, me too.”
The Captain was very pleased with himself, and Xu Qing even heard him munching on an apple as he sent his voice message.
“What about you, Xu Qing? How are things as the palace lord’s secretary-general? Busy?”
“Not bad,” Xu Qing replied. He was actually a bit surprised that the Captain seemed so happy with his assignment.
“I bet you don’t get it, do you, little Ah Qing? Fine, let me explain. When the others heard about my post, they turned up their noses in disdain. But they’re the idiots. Unlike me. As soon as I saw that assignment, I knew it was more complicated than it seemed.
“Ah, the Credit Auditing Branch! That’s where they track everyone’s military credits! Taking advantage of that position will bring incredible benefits.
“What’s more, I’ll be able to see who is earning the most military credits. By cross-referencing that with swordsage military credits in general, as well as the specific mission and cultivation base involved, I’ll be able to see which missions provide the most military credits with the least effort. As long as my calculations are correct, I can also tell which locations are most ideal to earn military credits. I have such a critical position now! In fact, if I do my research carefully, I should even be able to get my hands on some intelligence reports.”
The Captain’s excited tone of voice made it clear how pleased he was with his post assignment.
However, as Xu Qing listened to the voice messages, a strange expression appeared on his face. He was starting to think that the Swordsage Palace hadn’t put enough thought into what kind of position they were giving the Captain....
“Anyway, enough about that. I still have a lot more digging around to do in the Credit Auditing Branch. Trust me, little Ah Qing, you won’t have to wait very long before I find out the best ways and best places to get military credit. And then I’ll take you with me! The military credits will be ours for the taking!”
Having finished his message, the Captain went back to his research.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with anticipation.
“Military credits!” Turning, he looked in the general direction of Daybreak Prefecture, and within it, Mount Daybreak.
There’s also The Emperor’s Sword. I still have one more shot to seek enlightenment. I should do that sooner rather than later.
Taking a deep breath, he produced his command sword. It was necessary to make arrangements ahead of time to seek enlightenment of The Emperor’s Sword. After all, there were a lot of swordsages, and thus limited daily slots. Using his command sword, Xu Qing made a reservation for evening of the next day.
At that point, he devoted some thought to D-132. Taking out the jade slip with the information about the inmates, he started studying.
There were only fourteen inmates in D-132, all of whom had been locked up there for five hundred years or more. There were some who had been imprisoned for a thousand years. No new inmates had been locked up in that time, and none had died. But because no one had been in charge of the cell block for a hundred years, it hadn’t been inspected. Nor had anyone come out of the cell block during that time. The only maintenance was to occasionally send spirit energy into the cell block to keep the inmates alive.
After going over all the information thoroughly, Xu Qing still didn’t see anything particularly noteworthy. If there was anything that could be considered unusual, it was that the inmates in D-132 seemed much more long-lived than those in other cell blocks.
Finally, Xu Qing decided he just needed to see the situation with his own eyes.
The next day at dawn, he went to the Corrections Division, going directly to Level 57. Soon, he found himself standing in front of the door of D-132.
It was pitch black, and had a simplistic, ancient feel to it. After standing there for a moment, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with determination, and he slowly pushed the door open....
The odor of decay wafted out from inside, filling the area.
Meanwhile, many of the jailers on other levels looked toward the stairs, and the general direction of Xu Qing.
“D-132 is open again.”