Li Ban glanced at the tattered cloth on the table and immediately shook his head to explain: "Sir, are you referring to that piece of cloth? It's not mine."
"Not yours? Take a good look and think carefully before answering!"
Zhou Gu grabbed the map from the table and threw it at Li Ban's chest.
Li Ban hastily caught it with both hands, carefully examining it twice before lifting his head with firm conviction. "Sir, this truly isn't mine!"
Tree-Person A nearby scoffed, "Oh? Not yours? Then how was it found under your bed? The first and second floors are drawn in detail, while only the outer chamber of Officer Zhou's quarters on the third floor is clearly marked. It even exposes the entrance to the fourth floor. As for the fifth floor—you've never been there, so of course you wouldn't know its location. If you didn't draw this map, who else could have? None of the other slaves have ever descended below the second floor!"
Li Ban immediately turned to glare at Tree-Person A. "Jailer A! Besides slaves, many others could have drawn this map—including you, Officer A!"
"This map was discovered under your bed, with the slave Qi present as a witness. How do you explain that? Still trying to shift blame? Why not accuse Officer Zhou of drawing it instead?"
Li Ban couldn't help but admire Tree-Person A's audacity.
When confronted with the truth, Tree-Person A showed not the slightest unease or nervousness.
Li Ban simply ignored Tree-Person A and turned to Zhou Gu. "Officer Zhou, I'm truly being framed. Please believe me!"
Tree-Person A pressed on relentlessly, "Confess! Which faction sent you as a spy? What's your mission here?"
As he spoke, he even moved to strike Li Ban.
Then—
"Tree-Person A, step outside. I'll interrogate Li Ban personally."
Zhou Gu stood up, halting Tree-Person A's movement.
Tree-Person A was stunned. Why was he being excluded?
"But Officer Zhou—"
"Hmm? Do I need to repeat myself?"
Zhou Gu's right hand rested on the hilt of his waist saber.
"No, I'll leave at once." Tree-Person A exited reluctantly.
"Close the door!"
Seeing the door shut, Zhou Gu shook his head.
"That fool."
He sat back down.
"To think he'd take me for an idiot just to devour a menial worker."
Li Ban exhaled in relief and said gratefully, "Thank you for your trust, Officer Zhou. I swear to heaven this isn't mine. I don't know why Jailer A would do this to me."
Tree-Person A's framing attempt had been crude.
Yet sometimes, whether a scheme succeeded depended less on its intricacy and more on whose side authority favored.
This time, Zhou Gu had believed Li Ban without hesitation—partly because of the wine distillation equipment Li Ban had crafted.
This was their secret, and Li Ban's lifeline for self-preservation.
He placed the map back on the desk, deliberately smoothing the cloth to ensure Zhou Gu could clearly see its markings.
"Sir, why does he want to devour me? Can jailers freely consume menial workers?"
Zhou Gu hesitated.
He couldn't very well explain that to secure Tree-Person A's investigation of Li Ban, he'd promised Li Ban's limbs as payment.
Nor had Zhou Gu anticipated that a tree-person jailer would dare deceive him just for a meal.
These tree-people were stubborn and single-minded.
After the previous turmoil, Zhang Baishan had deemed them more reliable than humans—incapable of being spies—hence recruiting four after the jailers' deaths.
They obeyed only Zhang Baishan;
Zhou Gu couldn't bribe a single one.
If not for his lack of alternatives, why would he hastily accept Li Ban, this newly promoted menial worker?
Fortunately, Li Ban had proven surprisingly useful.
Zhou Gu reassured him, "Jailers cannot consume menial workers. Rest assured—after this, I'll warn him against further schemes. Corpses of menial workers and above belong to Officer Du, not for his consumption."
Hmm?
Even corpses of menial workers went to prison officials?
Why?
Suppressing his confusion, Li Ban said gratefully, "Thank you, Officer Zhou. To think he'd fabricate such an elaborate map to frame me. Thankfully, I'm moving to the third-floor menial quarters tonight—who knows what else he might plant in my room otherwise."
Li Ban shook his head, feigning bewilderment.
Zhou Gu glanced at the map and smirked coldly—until his brow furrowed.
Comparing the map to the actual room, his gaze subtly lingered on the locked chest containing their distillation equipment.
The map's markings matched his outer chamber as precisely as Death Prison's first two floors.
Tree-Person A had speculated the triangular symbols marked Li Ban's key locations.
But Zhou Gu had known instantly Li Ban didn't draw this—the wine equipment sketches bore entirely different strokes and habits.
Even disregarding that, Li Ban had no reason to create a map now.
Zhou Gu had noted Li Ban's excellent memory—if he needed a map for outside communication, he could wait until departure.
Hiding one in his room now would be suicidal.
Summoning Li Ban was merely to observe his reaction.
Though Li Ban guessed Tree-Person A's scheme, lacking proof, he'd relied on Zhou Gu's intervention.
This reinforced Zhou Gu's assessment of the menial worker's usefulness.
But Li Ban's casual remark revealed another anomaly.
Tree-Person A's framing map marked their secret distillation equipment—known only to Zhou Gu and Li Ban, who'd been sworn to secrecy.
How then did Tree-Person A know to highlight that location?
Had Li Ban told him? Or...
Was Tree-Person A spying on Zhou Gu?
As Zhou Gu stared motionlessly at the map, Li Ban stole a glance before lowering his head meekly.
Moments later, Zhou Gu abruptly lifted the map and set it aflame with an oil lamp.
"Li Ban, I'll warn Tree-Person A. This ends here. Speak of this to no one—it would damage Death Prison's reputation."
"I absolutely won't."
Though—did Death Prison even have a reputation?
Outside in the third-floor corridor, Tree-Person A stood puzzled.
Why exclude him from Li Ban's interrogation? This deviation unsettled him.
He dared not eavesdrop—a jailer's ears weren't for decoration.
When the door finally opened, out walked Li Ban—intact.
"How did you—"
"Officer Zhou believes me." Li Ban even nodded at Tree-Person A. "He wants you inside."
Perplexed, Tree-Person A entered, immediately catching the scent of burning.
As a tree-person, he detested the smell—yet lacked authority to forbid flames on the third floor.
"Officer Zhou, why release Li Ban? And—you burned the evidence?"