Zhou Gu took one look and hurried after him.
Li Ban jogged to keep up, just in time to hear Zhou Gu ask Du An why he didn't want the corpse.
Du An offered no explanation, walking straight outside to board the carriage they had arrived in.
Uncle Qin hadn't returned with them after going back to deliver the message.
So the carriage waiting this time was Du An's personal one.
His questions unanswered, Zhou Gu looked stifled, as if the words were trapped in his throat.
When Li Ban walked over, he saw that the driver was Lu Qinghe, who exclusively served Du An.
Great, he'd have to sit outside too.
Last time, the prison official Zhao Yu hadn't let him sit inside the carriage, so this time was out of the question.
"Li Ban, you come inside as well."
Unexpectedly, Du An's voice rang out from inside the carriage.
Slightly surprised, Li Ban was just about to push the door open when he noticed Lu Qinghe staring at him in astonishment.
They had crossed paths so many times.
Yet this was the first time she had ever truly looked him in the eye.
Li Ban entered the cabin and saw Zhou Gu sitting huddled and timid, as meek as a mouse.
He could only follow Zhou Gu's example and perch on the very edge of the side seat.
"Did you kill the man?" Du An asked evenly.
"Yes, Milord."
"Mediocre skills, but good courage," Du An commented mildly.
Li Ban certainly knew his skills were mediocre.
How long had he even been training?
And how many years had the NPCs of the Wizard World been practicing?
However, Du An's evaluation made Zhou Gu look at Li Ban in a whole new light.
He didn't dare sneak a glance at Du An, so he just kept staring intently at Li Ban.
After that, Du An didn't say another word, simply closing his eyes to rest.
Or perhaps he was cultivating his spiritual rhinoceros.
Zhou Gu wasn't cultivating. He kept casting glances at Li Ban, as if he hadn't yet recovered from Du An's sudden praise.
The staring gave Li Ban the creeps, so he simply followed suit and closed his eyes to rest.
He was injured anyway, and it was perfectly normal to lack energy late at night.
By the time they returned to the Death Prison, it was midnight. The main courtyard had kept its doors open.
Even the off-duty prison officials were still awake.
With Lord Du still out, who would dare to sleep?
A crowd of them swarmed forward to welcome Du An inside.
Li Ban trailed at the very back, but thankfully, someone came to receive him this time as well.
"Li Ban, who would've thought! You're usually so quiet, but today you actually killed a man!" Wang Hua couldn't squeeze his way to Lord Du's side, so he came over to greet Li Ban instead.
It seemed Uncle Qin had already broadcasted his achievements when he returned earlier.
However, Li Ban didn't want to stand out too much.
He directly showed Wang Hua his fire-scorched arms and back, as well as his singed, shortened hair.
"I was forced into it."
"Whoa!" Wang Hua took a half-step back as he looked at Li Ban's heavily bandaged hands.
He naturally wanted to earn merits too, but he was even more averse to getting hurt. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent decades guarding the third level without ever changing posts.
In truth, Doctor Chen had just used an excessive amount of bandages; Li Ban's wounds weren't actually that serious.
Coupled with the fact that his first element was already full of spiritual rhinoceros, greatly improving his physical constitution, these minor injuries didn't hinder him at all.
He was just intentionally playing weak in front of Wang Hua.
After seeing Du An off, the crowd came back and asked Li Ban what had happened.
Li Ban was surrounded for the time it took an incense stick to burn. He talked until his mouth was completely dry before finally hearing Zhang Baishan speak up to shoo people away.
"Alright, alright, how many times are you going to ask the same questions over and over? Li Ban is injured, let him go back and rest."
Li Ban finally managed to escape.
Going back and simply changing his clothes, he immediately got into bed, ready for a good rest.
Cultivating while injured would affect his efficiency.
But just as Li Ban closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep, a question suddenly struck him.
After seeing the corpse, why had Du An left immediately without showing any disappointment over missing out on an energy-type element?
Then why did he come to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda?
It couldn't possibly be just to pick him and Zhou Gu up and bring them back to the Death Prison, right?
Li Ban soon fell asleep.
However, there was someone else who couldn't sleep at all.
Zhou Gu sat in the inner room of his quarters, staring at a small, open black box on the table.
Inside the box lay a piece of vividly green jade.
This was the new element he had traded from the Myriad Ancient Pagoda using almost his entire fortune and the three tongues he had cultivated.
A good-grade spirit-type element.
Flute Sound.
This was already Zhou Gu's last chance.
It paradoxically made him a bit cowardly, afraid to take that final step.
If he failed again, he would truly have no more chances.
Staring at the jade in the box, Zhou Gu ultimately lacked the courage to fuse with it right now.
He needed to adjust his state of mind first.
However, the very next day, prison warden Du An summoned everyone to the front hall of the main courtyard.
This was the official administrative area of the Death Prison.
Du An sat behind the desk at the head of the room, while everyone else stood below.
Zhang Baishan stood first on the left, while a distracted Zhao Yu stood on the right.
The honest Huo Jiang and Zhou Gu stood in the second row.
Today was also the first time Li Ban had laid eyes on the other two tree-man prison guards.
Tree-man Bing and Tree-man Ding.
The bark patterns and branch styles of these two were different from Tree-Person A and Tree-Person B.
They didn't seem to be the same species of tree.
Tree-Person A and B looked like willow trees.
While Bing and Ding looked more like scholar trees.
Only the slaves were absent.
When Li Ban came over with Wang Hua, he was still wondering if having everyone gather together would leave a hole in the Death Prison's defenses.
As it turned out, after they emerged, a massive stone block had dropped down to seal the main gate connecting the third level to the outside.
Carved onto the stone was the back of a giant, holding a long blade in one hand and a shield in the other.
It looked incredibly majestic and awe-inspiring.
Li Ban found it very strange. He didn't know what was about to happen for them to put on such a huge display.
Once everyone was present, prison warden Du An immediately spoke.
"I will be leaving for the Capital City to give my work report. I depart tomorrow and will return in mid-March. During this period, Baishan will be in charge of all affairs."
"Yes, Milord!" Zhang Baishan immediately cupped his hands in compliance.
"The rest of you will obey Baishan's orders. Unless there is a critical emergency, no one is allowed to leave the Death Prison."
As Du An said this, his eyes were fixed on Zhao Yu.
Zhao Yu, who frequently ran off to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, clearly felt the pointed remark and immediately lowered his head deeply.
"I will be taking Lu Qinghe with me. Jingyan Hall will be sealed during my absence. If any prisoners die, Zhou Gu is to confirm the death, place them in a body bag, and temporarily store them on site."
"Yes, Milord!" This time, it was Zhou Gu who cupped his hands and bowed.
The work of the other handymen didn't require Du An's personal attention at all. The only reason he had called everyone together was to publicly back Zhang Baishan.
Once he left, Zhang Baishan would rightfully be the acting prison warden.
Even the thorn in his side, Zhao Yu, would have to obediently listen.
Confirming that he was just here as a spectator, Li Ban finally relaxed and let his mind wander.
He had thought this would be about yesterday's energy-type element. It seemed that even though Lord Du had gone there in person, he hadn't dwelled on it too much.
Li Ban lowered his eyes and reined in his thoughts, not even looking at Du An.
The small all-hands meeting quickly adjourned.
On their way back, Li Ban and Wang Hua watched the Sealing Stone Gate slowly rise.
"This stone gate has to be tested twice a year," Wang Hua explained as a veteran to the newcomers, Li Ban and Gu Yueqi. "If we ever face an unstoppable enemy or disaster, we have to drop the Sealing Stone Gate and completely lock down the Death Prison. That's why we have to make sure the gate is in working condition."
When the stone gate finally rose to the top, Li Ban followed the others inside. He looked up and saw that the entire slab was a full two meters thick. He had no idea what kind of power could lift it so effortlessly and steadily.
Returning to the third level, Zhao Yu went up to the fourth level to stand guard, while everyone else returned to their own rooms.
Before they parted, Zhou Gu shot Li Ban a look, signaling for him to come over in a bit.
Li Ban went to take a lap around the Second Level.
Because planting the tongues had succeeded, they had temporarily stopped feeding insect eggs to the prisoners.
Zhou Gu was likely looking for him to give further instructions regarding this matter.
Once Li Ban confirmed that all the prisoners were still alive, he turned around and headed to Zhou Gu's room.
Zhou Gu was standing in front of the curio cabinet, looking somewhat conflicted.
"Sir."
Li Ban stepped forward.
"Lord Du leaves tomorrow, and Head Zhang just reiterated that everyone must stand guard on time. I won't have time for other matters for a while, so you should hold off on your end as well."
He turned around, his brows still knit together.
Zhou Gu had finally obtained a new element with great difficulty, only to be forced to delay fusing with it for a month. It was only natural for him to be anxious.
Li Ban could understand how he felt.
"Sir, you can use this time to rest and nurture your spirit. When the time comes for the fusion, you will definitely succeed in one fell swoop."
Li Ban's perfunctory comfort didn't smooth out Zhou Gu's brows in the slightest.
However, Zhou Gu hadn't called Li Ban over to seek his comfort either.
He took down a small box from the curio cabinet.
"This is your reward."
A reward?
Li Ban's eyelids twitched.
Zhou Gu had once said that if Li Ban could come up with a way to help him successfully fuse with a third element, he would give Li Ban a good-grade element.
Yet right now, Zhou Gu had merely obtained the third element and hadn't even performed the fusion yet. Why was he fulfilling his promise early?
In his impression, Zhou Gu was definitely not this generous!