604: I've learned a lot

A few days later.

A piece of news quickly spread throughout the Imperial City.

Shen Bei, Team Leader of the Night Watchers, was apprehended by Prince Wei, stripped of all his positions, and would no longer hold any office within the Night Watchers.

As soon as this news broke.

The officials in the Imperial City breathed a sigh of relief and raised their cups in celebration:

“That guy is finally gone!”

“Hmph! No matter how great Prince Wei is, he couldn’t withstand our collective pressure, and still had to comply, didn’t he?”

“What era is this, still bringing up Great Ancestor’s sacred decree? It’s not too late for retribution now.”

“The only pity is that Prince Wei was still too soft, he didn’t get rid of Shen Bei.”

“For such a figure to be removed is already the best outcome. Let the music and dancing continue!”

“Play ‘The Most Dazzling Cave Wind’! I heard this song was adapted from an earth's surface tune, and it’s quite catchy!”

“Haha, cheers!”

...

Those officials in the Imperial City who harbored ulterior motives, were extremely crooked, and had not yet been caught, naturally rejoiced.

Shen Bei’s departure, and the loss of his authority in the Night Watchers, made them happier than ever.

Feasts were held for three days and three nights, celebrating the departure of the great Devil Head Shen Bei.

Meanwhile, the residents of the city wore bitter expressions.

What Shen Bei did was to speak for the people, to clear out corruption and greed, which was a great good deed.

As a result, the good person was not rewarded, and was silently removed just like that.

The Imperial City’s common people hadn’t even enjoyed a few days of happiness; wasn’t this just returning to the old days?

This was in line with the saying: smiles don’t disappear, they just transfer.

And Shen Bei had no leisure to contribute to the Cave.

The reason he acted so recklessly was clear: to go to One-Blade Gorge, then obtain the key to enter the Old Capital, and subsequently find Suspended Lantern Sect to resolve his Gestalt collapse.

“After going around in a big circle, I can finally take the first step.”

After a few days of rest, Shen Bei stepped out of his small courtyard and, following Prince Wei’s instructions, arrived at a heavily guarded prison in the Imperial City.

Previously, Zhen Li frequently operated here, then returned to his residence.

It was during this process that Zhen Li was ambushed by the Military arranged by Fu Jian.

The Military involved in the ambush had already left the Imperial City as planned, dispersing to other major cities.

According to Fu Jian, these cities were all Military strongholds, with a certain impact on the front-line battles.

Previously, humans and Stranger looked different and could not blend into the city, but now it was different.

With the odd object mask, there was no difference from an Stranger; as long as they didn’t speak human language, they could blend in until retirement without being discovered as humans in disguise.

These Military matters had little to do with Shen Bei anymore.

He had completed everything he needed to do.

Now, he had come to the prison to select crew members.

The journey to One-Blade Gorge was not easy; Shen Bei learned from Prince Wei that most of the journey would be by boat.

Shen Bei was indifferent to this, thinking it was a good opportunity to gain sailing experience and prepare for future voyages across the sea.

Zhen Li was also in the process of selecting crew members before he died.

As for selecting people from a prison…

It went without saying.

It was extremely dangerous; unless they were desperate, no one would genuinely follow to adventure in One-Blade Gorge.

As the Captain, he couldn’t control the ship at all times, could he?

For daily maintenance and vigilance, should the Captain stay awake for twelve hours every day, watching?

Just like now, if he wanted to change a main sail, the Captain would have to do it himself…

Crew members were essential.

Standing at the prison gate.

The three-zhang-high circular wooden door looked like a vault door, with a relief of an unusual beast’s head in the center of the wooden door.

The unusual beast had a huge mouth, occupying half its head, with two goat horns on its forehead, and below the horns, a pair of bulging eyes were tightly shut.

This unusual beast's design was equivalent to the Bixi at the gates of ancient earth's surface prisons.

It symbolized distinguishing right from wrong and judging impartially.

As Shen Bei approached the wooden door, the unusual beast’s head opened its eyes.

Shen Bei was startled.

“It’s alive?”

Shen Bei widened his eyes; it didn’t look alive at all!

It was clearly a wooden carving, how did its eyes open?

And in the unusual beast’s eyes, there seemed to be a vortex, swallowing everything it saw. After its mouth slightly opened, it was pitch black inside, and a cold aura emanated from within, as if countless wronged souls were wailing and lamenting there.

“You are Shen Bei, the new Captain replacing Zhen Li, aren’t you?”

An Stranger’s voice came out.

Shen Bei cursed under his breath.

Damn it.

It was just a movable mechanism, made to look so real.

It was too scary!

“It’s me.” Shen Bei replied calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking.

The wooden door creaked open, revealing an environment like a dungeon inside.

Standing inside the door was an Stranger with a red nose, smelling strongly of alcohol, clearly a Jiu Gui.

“Captain Zhen Li is gone?”

“Yes, the old Captain reaped what he sowed, and left… quite happily.”

“I know.” Jiu Gui took a swig of wine, his face full of sorrow.

“In the Jianghu, one is not one’s own master. Although he was ambushed and killed, it was still very difficult. We should be happy for the old Captain.” Shen Bei comforted Jiu Gui.

Jiu Gui looked dispirited, showing no sign of happiness…

“The Ghost Ship is short-handed. I’ll pick some crew members, no problem, right?” Shen Bei asked.

Jiu Gui shrugged: “Of course, no problem. If you need Captain Zhen Li’s selection list, I have a backup here.”

Shen Bei waved his hand: “No need, I’ll do it myself.”

“Alright.”

Jiu Gui stepped aside, leading Shen Bei inside.

Entering the dungeon, looking around, it was dim, with only some whale oil lamps burning on the stone walls on both sides, their weak flames emitting a faint, dim light.

Stepping in, Shen Bei immediately felt that the gravity here was unusual; the further he walked in, the stronger the gravity became.

Along the path were seemingly ordinary cells, all forged from hard black stone that was unresponsive to True Qi, along with some miscellaneous Materials that Shen Bei couldn’t immediately identify.

Shen Bei was secretly astonished; this reminded him of the Sea Prism Stone in One Piece.

He hadn’t expected the Cave to be able to build suppression cells targeting Martial Artists or Cultivators.

“Young Master, please, let me out. You can even sell me, I can give you anything I have…”

On the left was a naked young girl, with large, watery eyes, looking pitiful. She twisted her body, seemingly wanting to cover her vital parts, appearing shy yet wanting to reveal.

Shen Bei glanced sideways, immediately feeling a surge of heat in his body. A divine light flashed in his eyes, and he clearly saw that behind the girl, there were two pairs of irregularly shaped fleshy wings, all nailed to the cell.

‘What the hell is this thing? It’s very different from the Vicious Beasts in the wild!’

Shen Bei maintained a calm exterior, muttering inwardly.

He couldn’t show a bumpkin-like demeanor.

After all, his persona included being someone who consorted with Great Cultivators of the Divine Power Realm.

After a brief thought, Shen Bei felt like he had seen it somewhere before…

He remembered now; during the time he was immersed in the Night Watcher’s library, Shen Bei had read related records.

This was a type of demon from across the sea.

“Burning Life Enchantress, a Essence Spirit. Legend has it that the first Burning Life Spirit was a sentient being born from the wick of a life lamp. It uses Lifespan as power and can continuously evolve, gaining a new talent with each evolution. It often possesses the ability to charm; engaging in intimacy with it will result in one’s Lifespan being devoured. However, if the Burning Life Enchantress falls in love, she can return Lifespan.”

Shen Bei smacked his lips, marveling. He once again lamented in his heart how wild this world was, and wondered if there was any old pimp Senior, a Dragon among men, who would find such an Enchantress and pay with Lifespan. Would they dare to go for it…

Anyway… Shen Bei would dare.

After all, his Seven-Colored Divine Radiance was primarily about longevity.

He could afford that much “prostitution fee.”

But Shen Bei was not interested in it.

Shen Bei asked Jiu Gui: “Are all the things we’re holding here like this?”

“Otherwise, why do you think Zhen Li spent so much time here?”

Jiu Gui said with some pride: “Although our dynasty cannot compare to the continent across the sea, it is not a place where any demon can run rampant.”

Shen Bei understood.

This was a collection of war trophies, an exhibition hall…

Tsk tsk…

It was truly an eye-opener!