34: Chapter 34 The Dying Man, the Glazed Golden Body Technique!

Winter, the 30th year of Xuanhe in Great Wei.

In the corridor of the Cell Block D of the Celestial Prison, the chill was heavier than usual. The torches on the walls flickered in the draft, twisting the elongated shadows of the jailers into grotesque shapes.

Chen Ran carried a wooden bucket and stood in the shadows of a corner.

He did not crowd forward to watch the commotion like the other jailers; instead, he kept his head slightly lowered, his gaze calmly fixed ahead.

The new Lieutenant, Li Changfeng, walked at the front with a livid expression. Behind him, four burly Demon Suppression Guards were dragging a bloodied, unrecognizable figure.

It was a man.

His collarbones had been brutally pierced by two specially crafted black gold chains, the other ends of which were held tightly by the Demon Suppression Guards. With every step, the chains ground against the man's flesh and bone, emitting a teeth-gritting "creak."

Fresh blood dripped from his toes, dragging a long, dark red trail across the bluestone floor.

"Throw him in," Li Changfeng ordered coldly.

With a dull thud, the man was tossed into Cell 72 of the Cell Block D like a dead dog. The heavy iron door slammed shut, and the sound of the lock echoed through the empty corridor.

Chen Ran withdrew his gaze, picked up his wooden bucket, and began his routine meal delivery.

Word was that the prisoner delivered this time was no ordinary person.

The Demon Suppression Division had dispatched quite a few experts just to capture such a prisoner.

He was likely someone with profound strength.

Not long after, Li Changfeng emerged and spoke to Chen Ran:

"Little Chen, this prisoner is to be executed in a while. Keep an eye on him during this time."

"His Meridians are shattered and his strength is gone, so you don't need to worry about him lashing out."

Chen Ran cupped his hands, "Leave it to me."

...

Thump, thump, thump. Footsteps echoed in the prison as Chen Ran walked forward at a steady, unhurried pace.

When he reached Cell 72 of the Cell Block D, Chen Ran stopped.

The man was curled up in a pile of hay in the corner. He was covered in blood, his breathing so faint it was almost inaudible, as if he might breathe his last at any moment.

Chen Ran expressionlessly picked up a wooden ladle, scooped up a serving of foul-smelling gruel, and poured it into the broken wooden bowl beneath the cell door.

"Eat," Chen Ran's voice was devoid of inflection.

The man did not move.

Chen Ran did not care and turned to leave. In this Celestial Prison, people died every day; he was long accustomed to it.

Just as he turned, the man suddenly opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were those? Bloodshot and cloudy, yet they radiated a heart-trembling obsession and madness. It was like a lone wolf cornered, desperately biting onto the last straw before death.

Chen Ran's footsteps faltered slightly.

He did not turn back, only silently reciting in his heart, [Eye of Investigation, activate.]

A pale golden screen, visible only to Chen Ran, slowly unfolded above the man's head.

[Name: Wang Hailong]

[Realm: Sixth Grade (Crippled)]

[Identity: Former Imperial Secret Guard, private executioner for the powerful]

[Sin Value: Monstrous (Countless murders, deserves to die)]

[Status: Near death, Obsessed (Protecting)]

[Martial Arts: "Glazed Golden Body Art" (Top-tier Hard Qigong, incomplete)]

Chen Ran's pupils constricted slightly.

"Glazed Golden Body Art"?

He had been in this Celestial Prison for so long and had seen countless Cultivation Techniques, but this was the first one to be rated as "Top-tier Hard Qigong" by the Heavenly Book.

It seemed this prisoner's identity was not simple; he likely had significant backing.

Chen Ran's breathing remained steady; he did not reveal the slightest abnormality.

A Cultivation Technique of this level could never be owned by an ordinary death row prisoner. Behind this Wang Hailong lay immense trouble.

"Brother Jailer..."

A hoarse, dry voice came from the cell, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

Chen Ran turned around and looked at Wang Hailong in the corner.

"Something the matter?" Chen Ran's tone remained flat, like the most ordinary, trouble-averse bottom-tier jailer.

Wang Hailong stared fixedly into Chen Ran's eyes.

He had read countless people and had killed more high-ranking officials and nobles than Chen Ran had seen death row prisoners. He could tell that this young jailer before him, despite wearing the shabbiest clothes and doing the lowliest work, had eyes that were too steady.

No greed, no fear, only a calmness that saw through life and death.

Wang Hailong did not know Chen Ran's strength; he was simply in despair and instinctively felt that this jailer might be able to help him.

"Do me a favor," Wang Hailong's voice was very low, almost inaudible, "I will give you a divine technique you'll never see in your entire life."

Chen Ran did not speak, only watched him quietly.

"I won't survive," Wang Hailong gave a miserable laugh, which tugged at the wounds on his collarbones, causing his whole body to twitch in pain, "They locked my collarbones and crippled my cultivation. By next week at the latest, someone will come to silence me."

"In this Celestial Prison, people die every day," Chen Ran said indifferently.

"But I cannot die just like this!" Wang Hailong suddenly became agitated, his eyes wide, like a beast protecting its young, "My wife and daughter are still outside the city! They won't let them go! Those animals, they will sell them to the Music Conservatory, making their lives worse than death!"

Wang Hailong gasped violently, gripping the iron bars of the cell door tightly.

"Help me... send them away. Send them to the south, the further the better." Wang Hailong stared at Chen Ran, saying each word clearly, "As long as you agree, I will tell you the incantation for the "Glazed Golden Body Art". It is a top-tier technique that can allow one's Physical Body to achieve sainthood!"

Chen Ran fell silent.

A top-tier hard qigong technique was exactly what he needed most right now.

His internal energy had reached ninety years, only a step away from the Fifth Grade. But the strength of his Physical Body was gradually failing to keep up with the growth of his internal energy. If he could obtain the "Glazed Golden Body Art", his defensive power would undergo a qualitative leap.

As long as his defense was high enough, no one could break his guard. This was true stability.

However, the risk was too great.

Wang Hailong was a discarded pawn of the powerful; since those people could put him into the Celestial Prison, they must have sent people to watch his wife and daughter. Going to save them now was no different from snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

"I am just a jailer," Chen Ran shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of just-right cowardice, "I can't even get out of the city gate, how can I save anyone?"

"You can!" Wang Hailong stared fixedly at Chen Ran, "You are different from them! I can tell, you are a smart person. Smart people always have a way."

Wang Hailong released his grip, leaning dejectedly against the wall, his voice becoming weak: "Outside the city, three miles west of the Mass Grave, there is a ruined temple. They are hiding in the cellar behind the ruined temple. The entrance to the cellar is covered by a bluestone slab engraved with the character ' 卍'."

"I only beg you, give them a way to live."

Wang Hailong closed his eyes and said no more. He knew he had already revealed all his trump cards. The rest could only be left to fate.

Chen Ran took a deep look at Wang Hailong, picked up the wooden bucket, and turned to leave.

He neither agreed nor refused.

Walking through the dark corridor, Chen Ran constantly calculated the gains and losses in his mind.

With ninety years of internal energy, combined with the "Cloud-Turning Palm" and the "Breath-Concealing Art", as long as he didn't encounter an expert of the Upper Three Grades, he was confident he could retreat unscathed.

And the "Glazed Golden Body Art" could indeed make up for the deficiencies of his Physical Body.

"Treating a dead horse as a living one, huh..." Chen Ran chuckled lightly in his heart.

He walked to the duty room and put down the wooden bucket.

Just then, his keen hearing caught a hint of an unusual sound.

Chen Ran walked to the window and looked at the pitch-black night outside.

This deal was indeed very risky.

But the rewards were even greater.

The cold wind howled, and Chen Ran looked out the window.

Outside the window was a pitch-black hill; that was the back mountain of the Celestial Prison.

According to Wang Hailong's instructions, his wife and daughter were hiding near that Mass Grave.

"Let's check the situation first."

Chen Ran paused, grabbed his clothes, and his figure gradually disappeared into the night.