In the depths of this prison, the accumulated ice streams were beyond Chen Ji's wildest imagination.
He never expected there to be so many ice streams in this place!
As he walked through the dark corridors of the prison, he felt numerous ice streams swirling into his body, causing his already sealed dantian to sway perilously.
The gray-white ice streams coiled like dragons, releasing a roar that others could not hear.
It felt as if the restless souls trapped here were unwilling to submit, intent on devouring Chen Ji whole.
These streams represented a force in this mysterious world that transcended power and authority, yet they were gradually being stripped away.
Chen Ji could feel the chill permeating his internal organs, but he dared not show any sign of it beside Yun Yang.
However, just as they passed by a cell, he noticed an oil lamp on the wall with a hexagram engraved on its base.
Suddenly, Chen Ji recalled the hexagrams he saw under the ogrd lamps while descending the stairs before.
Each lamp was akin to a prison; as long as the light remained, the souls did not perish!
He quickly took the oil lamp and held it tightly in his palm.
In an instant, the ice streams within his dantian began to recede like a tide.
Panting slightly, he caught Yun Yang's surprised gaze.
"What are you doing with that lamp?"
He replied, "It's too dark in this prison; I’m just not used to it."
Yun Yang laughed mockingly, "I never expected someone bold enough to bargain with me would be afraid of the dark!"
Chen Ji did not respond.
Instead, he pondered a question: Did the ice streams remain even after death? Judging by their quantity, it was clear that they had accumulated over a long time.
Even the most ruthless of the Intelligence Bureau couldn't have killed that many people in such a short span.
It was the hexagrams at work!
The inner minister must have been concerned that too many deaths would attract the attention of vengeful spirits; thus, he used the hexagrams to capture those souls in the prison, resulting in the accumulation of these ice streams over the years.
Chen Ji took a deep breath and said, "Lord Yun Yang, can you retrieve the records for me? We should look for clues, not only in the current cases; perhaps past cases hold many secrets."
Yun Yang beckoned to the spies, "Bring them to him!"
When the spies carried in the records, they filled more than a dozen large wooden boxes.
Chen Ji casually picked up a book, flipping through it while surveying the prison.
Yun Yang sat by a table sipping tea, while the spies followed closely behind Chen Ji.
When he reached a cell, he asked, "Was Liu Yaozu, the Deputy of Yuzhou, ever held in cell twenty-seven? Where is he now?"
The spy hesitated, unsure how to address the masked youth before him, and finally whispered, "This... lord, the records say he was released; he walked out alive. If there's nothing written, it means he died inside."
Chen Ji confirmed that Liu Yaozu had indeed died in the prison four years ago.
He moved to the next cell, "Was Chen Mingzhu, the Head of Craft in Luocheng, ever held in cell twenty-eight?"
"He also died."
From then on, Chen Ji asked no more questions, silently counting in his heart:
"In cell fifty-two, Xu Jiawen, the prefect of Guiding Province, dead.”
"In cell one of section B, Tian Hailong, the magistrate of Shancai County, dead; Xu Dehong, the deputy, dead…”
As he tallied, he found that some cells had witnessed one death, while others had seen several.
The more he investigated, the more alarmed he became; the records in his hands felt akin to a ledger of life and death from the hall of Yama.
When he flipped through the records again, he noted that the prison had also held some wanderers of the martial world and officials hidden within the streets, yet these individuals did not have ice streams surrounding their cells.
He took a deep breath, finally grasping the pattern of the ice streams.
The only commonality among those who could produce ice streams after death was this: they were officials!
The underground prison resembled a vast cemetery, with no telling how many souls had perished in this lightless abyss.
This was not the martial world but a grave for both the martial realm and the court.
Standing before a cell with an open record in his hands, Chen Ji felt a strangely absurd sense of reality.
The path he took in cultivation was at odds with the entire Ning Dynasty; if he wished to cultivate, he would require the deaths of officials and royal bloodlines!
From the emperor to the lowliest clerk, the Ning Dynasty held all the power.
And he dared challenge that?
Yun Yang was right; it indeed was too dangerous to let others discover the nature of his cultivation path…
Yun Yang sat with one leg crossed, munching on sunflower seeds.
Seeing Chen Ji lost in thought, he asked, "Have you found any clues?"
Chen Ji snapped back to reality, "Not yet."
Yun Yang frowned.
"I personally came to retrieve you, wasting an hour going back and forth, only for you to say there are no clues?"
Chen Ji had obtained both the ice streams and the records but knew he couldn't leave just like that.
After a moment of thought, he asked, "How did Liu Shiyu die? Did you kill him?"
Yun Yang shook his head.
"No, he couldn't endure the torture and committed suicide by hanging."
Chen Ji furrowed his brow.
"Is his body still in the prison?"
"It is. Do you want to see it?" Yun Yang seemed intrigued and tossed the sunflower seeds on the table.
"I'll take you there."
Yun Yang led Chen Ji deeper into the prison, going down several flights of stairs and through multiple levels until they reached the deepest part, where the sound of flowing water could be heard.
"Here it is, only Liu Shiyu's body inside," Yun Yang took a torch and walked in.
Liu Shiyu appeared to be around thirty, slender, with pale skin and a ghostly face; his tongue was protruding, and there were signs of loss of bodily functions.
This was a typical case of death by hanging; nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Chen Ji held his breath, feeling uneasy at the sight of the body.
Yun Yang teased, "I thought you were all-powerful; how can you not even look at a corpse?"
Chen Ji regained his composure.
"Lord Yun Yang, being able to remain indifferent while examining the corpse of a fellow human is not something worth boasting about... Liu Shiyu did not take his own life; he was silenced."
Yun Yang shook his head.
"You're wrong this time. I have killed many, so I know what to look for. Everything about his death points to hanging: I've helped many hang themselves, and those who do turn pale and lose bodily functions; that's unmistakable. You might wonder if he was strangled and then hung? That’s not the case; those who are strangled turn purplish, and I know this well."
"Theoretically, what Lord Yun Yang said is correct," Chen Ji nodded.
"Hmm?" Yun Yang was puzzled.
Chen Ji explained, "But these signs can be faked."
Death by hanging occurs due to the carotid artery being blocked, leading to lack of oxygen in the brain.
When the carotid artery is swiftly cut off, the veins may still work momentarily, causing a hanging victim to turn pale, while a strangled person often turns purplish.
The person who silenced Liu Shiyu likely knew this principle and created a façade of a hanging: the tongue could be forced out, acupuncture could induce incontinence, and precisely constricting the artery could result in a pale complexion.
The perpetrator was a professional at faking suicides; however, they missed one detail: the feet.
Chen Ji clarified, "A hanging person will have their toes pointing downward, nearly vertical to the ground. After two hours, rigor mortis sets in, and even if the person is brought down, they remain in that position. But look at Liu Shiyu; before he was strangled, he fought back, kicking with his legs, resulting in his feet being fixed in different directions."
Yun Yang pondered after hearing this, "Is that so…? Let’s head back to the A-level and bring a condemned prisoner for an experiment; we’ll soon find out!"
Upon returning upstairs, Chen Ji watched as two spies dragged in a condemned prisoner.
Even before the prisoner was hanged, he had already wet his pants.
Yun Yang sat at the table, munching on sunflower seeds while disdainfully commenting, "This is our Ning Dynasty’s civil servant. On the surface, they appear mighty, but in reality, they’re fragile."
Chen Ji hesitated, "Lord Yun Yang, what was his crime?"
"Collaborating with the enemy and treason, forging registries and travel documents for spies of the Jing Dynasty," Yun Yang turned to the spies and ordered, "Hang him from the ceiling; I want to observe!"
Chen Ji wanted to say something but ultimately chose to remain silent.
In the next moment, the spies tied a rope around the prisoner's neck, suspending him from the ceiling and kicking away the stool beneath him.
Within seconds, the prisoner fell utterly still.
Everyone waited, watching the body hanging before them.
Yet Yun Yang continued to sip tea and munch on sunflower seeds, as if what hung there wasn't a person but merely a pig.
Chen Ji focused on flipping through the records to pass the time.
Two hours later, the spies took the body down from the ceiling.
Just as Chen Ji had stated, the toes were stiff and straight.
Yun Yang clapped in admiration, "In the past, I only hung people; I never took them down before, and I completely overlooked this detail!"
Chen Ji remarked calmly, "If someone wants to kill and silence, it implies there’s a bigger fish behind Liu Shiyu. The Liu family isn't just one person collaborating with the enemy; Liu Mingde from the main house and Liu Ming's second house both seem suspicious."
Yun Yang frowned.
"Liu Gun will return to Luocheng in a few days. Without evidence, provoking the Minister of Personnel would be inviting trouble for myself. You’re not trying to trick me into stepping into a pit of fire, are you?"
In the room, Chen Ji held onto the oil lamp; its flickering flame seemed to dance in his eyes.
"How could I? I'm counting on Lord Yun Yang to promote me! But earlier, Lord Yun Yang mentioned the dangers posed by Jing Dynasty spies to front-line soldiers; why then this sudden desire for self-preservation?"
Yun Yang sighed, "One must learn from experience. Before, I only knew how to kill; I just obtained the Twelve Zodiac position six months ago. Losing that would be quite a pity... The world of officials is not easy."
Chen Ji looked at him earnestly and asked, "Lord Yun Yang, you and Lord Jiao Tu excel at killing, while Master Inner Minister is exceptionally clever; why would he send you to do something you're not adept at?"
Yun Yang was taken aback.
"Yes… does the Inner Minister want to use our violent ways to eliminate the Liu family? If the Inner Minister sent us to kill, then how should I..."
He subconsciously reached for the teapot to pour Chen Ji a cup of tea but then paused, realising he’d only poured for the Inner Minister in the past!
He put the teapot back on the table.
"But even if we know someone murdered Liu Shiyu, it’ll be hard to capture evidence against the Liu family. How should I continue investigating?"
Chen Ji shook his head.
"Currently, there are too few clues, and I don’t have any good suggestions. However, doesn't Lord Yun Yang find it odd that Liu Laotai passed away so mysteriously? The moment he died, you all fell into a passive position. My master was invited to treat him, yet his carriage broke down on the way and he never saw Liu Laotai."
Yun Yang’s mind flashed with a sudden thought: "Liu Laotai may not be dead!"
(End of chapter)