68: Chapter 68: Prison Van Escort, Hiding Old Offenders

The outskirts of the Heavenly Prison.

A gloomy wind carried a fine drizzle, striking the bluestone pavement and evoking a damp, chilling cold.

A row of heavy prisoner transport wagons crafted from refined steel, escorted by Martial Artists from the Demon Suppression Division and constables from the Six Doors, slowly drove through the gates of the Heavenly Prison.

The dull sound of the wheels grinding against the ground broke the long-standing deathly silence of this place.

Walking at the very front was Lin Wan, clad in a flying fish suit.

She was not wearing armor today, but the scabbard of the goose-quill saber at her waist still bore traces of dark red blood that had not yet fully dried.

To unearth this person in the prisoner transport wagon, she had barely closed her eyes for the past few days.

Chen Ran's seemingly casual remark back then, "Investigate along the path of Body Refining," was like a key, helping her unlock the complex and intricate locks of the capital's underground forces.

Following the past case files of the Demon Suppression Division and the Six Doors, she combed through dozens of large and small Gangs and martial arts halls inside and outside the capital.

Finally, her gaze locked onto a third-rate Gang named "Iron Bone Sect."

This Gang usually survived by collecting protection fees from merchants and escorting worthless goods; the Gang leader was just a rough man who had just stepped into the eighth-grade Body Refining realm, looking as ordinary as could be.

But Lin Wan discovered a secret account of theirs; a sum of money of unknown origin was sent punctually every month into a dry well in the backyard of the Iron Bone Sect.

She did not alert the enemy, but instead brought a few elites from the Six Doors and laid in wait for three full days.

Finally, in the early hours of last night, she managed to corner a "living dead" crawling out of the dry well.

"Lord Lin, this time we've caught a big fish."

A constable from the Six Doors beside her rubbed his frozen hands, glancing at the prisoner transport wagon behind them that was wrapped in heavy chains and plastered with yellow talismans of suppression, still feeling lingering fear in his eyes.

"Li Luo, the 'Bone-Shattering Hand' who was declared dead in the extremely cold northern lands over a decade ago, has actually been hiding right under our noses in the capital.

If it weren't for your decisive action last night in setting up an inescapable net in advance, our few men probably wouldn't have been enough for him to crush with one hand."

Lin Wan's expression was cold and detached; she did not respond.

Recalling the brief yet extremely bloody slaughter from last night, she still felt a lingering fear.

That old monster named Li Luo not only had extremely high martial arts skills but also had an outrageously tough Physical Body.

Ordinary blades striking him couldn't even leave a white mark.

If she hadn't mobilized the armor-piercing heavy crossbows of the Six Doors in advance, coupled with the special hypnotic powder from the Demon Suppression Division, she would never have been able to take him down.

It was just a pity that this person had no connection to that mysterious individual.

"Regardless of whether he is dead or alive, once he enters this Heavenly Prison, he can forget about ever leaving," Lin Wan said coldly.

The convoy stopped at the entrance of the Yi Ward prison cells.

Centurion Zhao Wuji of the Demon Suppression Division had already been waiting for a long time with a group of prison guards.

He was wearing a dark golden brocade robe today, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his long, narrow eyes sweeping over the prisoner transport wagon before finally landing on Lin Wan.

"Constable Lin, you've worked hard," Centurion Zhao Wuji cupped his hands, "It's the middle of the night, yet I've troubled you to escort him personally."

Lin Wan did not waste words, directly pulling a thick stack of case files from her bosom and handing them over.

"This person is named Li Luo, a major criminal who committed several massacres in the capital over a decade ago.

He is not only proficient in hard-body Cultivation Techniques, but behind him may also be involved in a vast and secretive organization.

We haven't pried the specific confession out of him yet; the higher-ups have ordered to first detain him in the Yi Ward and guard him strictly."

Centurion Zhao Wuji took the files, flipped through them casually, and his gaze paused on the two characters "Li Luo," a trace of imperceptible gravity flashing in the depths of his eyes.

He turned his head and looked at the prisoner transport wagon.

Inside the wagon, that old monster called "Li Luo" had his hands and feet locked tightly by refined steel chains as thick as a child's arm, and iron rings with barbs were pierced through his shoulder blades.

He was disheveled, his prisoner uniform was tattered, and his exposed skin presented a strange, dark cyan color, covered with dense scars and burn marks.

Seeming to sense Centurion Zhao Wuji's gaze, Li Luo slowly lifted his head; a hint of mockery flashed in those beast-like, fierce, and turbid eyes.

"Demon Suppression Division... Six Doors..." His cracked lips moved slightly, emitting a hoarse voice like sandpaper rubbing together, "A bunch of... trash."

Centurion Zhao Wuji's eyes turned cold.

"What are you still standing there for? Take him in!" He waved his hand fiercely.

Several strong prison guards immediately stepped forward, using long iron hooks to catch the chains, and like dragging a beast, they forcibly pulled Li Luo out of the prisoner transport wagon.

The heavy chains dragged across the bluestone pavement, making a series of ear-piercing sounds.

Li Luo did not resist, only sneering repeatedly, letting the prison guards escort him toward the dark and deep Yi Ward prison cells.

He was locked into the same cell that Que Wuhua had previously occupied.

Multiple layers of refined steel bars fell, and several newly drawn talismans of suppression were pasted outside the door.

Chen Ran stood in the distance, not approaching.

But with his powerful spiritual perception, he could see every detail on Li Luo clearly.

"The Qi and blood inside that old monster... are so overbearing."

Chen Ran evaluated inwardly.

Although Li Luo's shoulder blades were pierced and most of his cultivation power was under a Seal, a heart-palpitating explosive force still lay dormant beneath his dark cyan skin.

This was definitely not something that could be cultivated by ordinary Body Refining Cultivation Techniques.

After Centurion Zhao Wuji, Lin Wan, and the others left, the Yi Ward prison cells returned to a deathly silence.

The few prison guards responsible for guarding gathered together and began to discuss in low voices.

"What is the background of this old monster? His skin is like it's made of iron; just now when the hooks caught him, I didn't even see a trace of blood."

"Didn't you hear what Constable Lin said? A wanted criminal from over a decade ago! I heard that this Li Luo wasn't simple in the past," an older prison guard lowered his voice and said mysteriously.

"How is he not simple?"

"That's all ancient history.

I heard that back in the day, he did dirty work for that person in the imperial palace..." The old prison guard pointed overhead, "Later, for some reason, he made off with some important item and defected.

The Demon Suppression Division hunted him for three full years, and the final news that spread was that he died in the extremely cold northern lands.

Who would have thought he had been hiding in our capital all along!"

Chen Ran carried the night soil bucket, pretending to be cleaning, but his ears were pricked up high.

Did dirty work for the imperial palace? Defected?

In his mind, the prisoner who had dropped the "Glazed Golden Body Art" previously in Section C instantly appeared.

That prisoner was also a Body Refining expert, also of unknown origin, and in the end, he died in the prison for no apparent reason.

"The physical characteristics of this Li Luo... that dark cyan luster, and that familiar, overbearing Qi and blood..."

Chen Ran's eyes flickered slightly.

His intuition told him that these two people definitely cultivated the same Cultivation Technique.

"It seems that behind this 'Glazed Golden Body Art,' not only is there a hidden organization, but this organization is highly likely to have thousands of threads of connection with the imperial court, or even the royal family."

Chen Ran did not continue to listen to the gossip of those prison guards; he carried the night soil bucket and silently turned to leave the Yi Ward.

Before long, Centurion Zhao Wuji returned.

He dismissed the prison guards gathered outside the cell and stood alone in front of Li Luo's cell.

Separated by the refined steel bars, Centurion Zhao Wuji looked coldly at the old monster sitting cross-legged on the straw pile inside.

"Li Luo, you certainly are lucky," Centurion Zhao Wuji snorted coldly, "I let you escape over a decade ago; I didn't expect you to dare to come back."

Li Luo didn't even lift an eyelid, as if he hadn't heard at all.

Centurion Zhao Wuji was not angry either, speaking to himself: "The higher-ups have given instructions; as long as you hand over that item, we can give you a quick end.

Otherwise, the one hundred and eight torture instruments in this Heavenly Prison are enough for you to taste one by one."

Li Luo finally had a reaction.

He slowly opened his eyes, a hint of mockery showing in his turbid gaze.

"Centurion Zhao Wuji, what kind of thing are you, to be worthy of interrogating me?" Li Luo sneered, "You want that item? Fine, have your Demon Suppression Division Commander come talk to me personally!"

"Stubborn and unyielding!" Centurion Zhao Wuji's face sank, but he seemed to have some reservations and did not fly into a rage on the spot, "We'll see how long your bones can stay hard!"

After saying this, Centurion Zhao Wuji flicked his sleeves and left.

He was unsure what secret this old monster was hiding and dared not rashly use torture, so he could only go report to the higher-ups first.

Once Centurion Zhao Wuji's footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor, Chen Ran slowly walked out from the corner.

He was holding a bowl of prison food emitting a sour smell and arrived in front of Li Luo's cell.

"Time to eat," Chen Ran's voice was flat, without the slightest inflection.

He skillfully opened the iron gate at the bottom of the cell door and pushed the bowl of prison food inside.

Li Luo did not move.

He remained sitting cross-legged there, as if he were a lifeless stone statue.

Chen Ran did not mind; he just took advantage of the action of pushing the bowl and shifted his thoughts.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the "heavenly book of prison suppression" opened silently.

[Prisoner: Li Luo]

[Sin: Grave (Countless killings, betrayed the imperial court)]

[Status: Detained (Seriously injured, under Seal)]

[Cultivation Technique: "Glazed Golden Body Art" (Incomplete), "Bone-Shattering Hand"...]

"It really is the 'Glazed Golden Body Art.'"

Chen Ran thought to himself.

At this moment, the advantage of the information gap was fully demonstrated.

Centurion Zhao Wuji and Lin Wan only knew that Li Luo was an extremely dangerous major criminal; they might not even be entirely clear about why he defected back then.

But Chen Ran had already used the heavenly book of prison suppression to directly confirm Li Luo's core trump card and had perfectly connected him with the previous clues.

"Cultivation Techniques of the same source, old cases of the imperial court..."

Chen Ran took back the empty tray and turned to leave.

Walking out of the Yi Ward, the cold rain outside was still falling.

He tightened his thin garment, the page of information in the heavenly book of prison suppression in his mind still flashing continuously.

In the Heavenly Prison, it seems a big fish is about to be unearthed.