Chapter Twenty-One: The Dungeon Boss

Even though she had never been inside the celestial prison, she had some understanding of it—it was no place for humans to endure.

It was hard to imagine what Xu Feng must have looked like after being confined there for so long. Feng Yumiang’s mind painted a vivid image of him beaten, spitting blood, crawling helplessly on the ground.

“Sister, hurry and save him. If we wait any longer, it’ll be too late. Please don’t let anyone die over this,” Feng Yumiang urged.

“He brought this on himself; there’s no need to waste our thoughts on him,” Left Jin Cheng remarked coldly from the side. But this time, neither sister paid him any heed.

“Let’s go—first, we must save him,” Feng Yuzhi said firmly. Although she had contemplated separating from Xu Feng, she never imagined it would come to someone’s death. If anything truly happened, who knew how her reputation would be sullied?

Rumors and gossip were hard to quell, and Left Jin Cheng seemed never to have considered such consequences. This only deepened Feng Yuzhi’s disappointment in him—he was far from the perfect person she had imagined.

The two sisters hurried to the celestial prison. Left Jin Cheng followed closely behind. Though reluctant to free Xu Feng, he still arranged for the cell to be opened.

In his mind, Xu Feng would not have lasted this long. If he were still alive, he was likely just a shadow of himself. The thugs inside the prison were experts at tormenting their captives.

Before sending Xu Feng in, Left Jin Cheng had already inquired about that cell—nearly everyone there had blood on their hands.

“Everyone, behave yourselves. Stay put and don’t move. From now on, don’t disturb my rest. Understand?” a voice commanded.

“Understood,” came the reply.

Xu Feng was in the innermost cell. When the sisters arrived, he stood with his hands behind his back, lecturing the others.

In a corner crouched a group of prisoners, and on the floor lay three corpses.

One man’s lower body was drenched in blood; the other two appeared to have died by suicide—one with a sunken forehead, the other holding a dagger crafted from a stone, his throat slashed.

“What is going on here? He doesn’t look like a prisoner; he seems more like the cell leader,” Feng Yumiang muttered in disbelief. After all the worry she’d had on the way here, Xu Feng looked fine, even rather composed.

Not only her, but Feng Yuzhi was equally stunned.

This scene was baffling to both. In their minds, Xu Feng was just a frail scholar, hardly a match for these ruffians.

Surely he wasn’t using poetry to fend them off?

Fortunately, Xu Feng soon noticed the newcomers and subdued his arrogant demeanor.

He once again adopted a weak and meek appearance.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Obviously, we came to rescue you. What’s going on? Planning to settle down here? And you’ve gathered so many followers? I never thought you had this ability before,” Feng Yumiang said, hands on hips, fiercely questioning him.

Xu Feng didn’t know how to explain and resorted to a casual excuse.

“I don’t understand it myself. From the moment I arrived, they treated me with great respect. Maybe they mistakenly think I have connections with the Tianxiang Pavilion, which is why they’re so deferential.”

That explanation seemed reasonable enough, and the sisters ceased their doubts.

Just then, Left Jin Cheng staggered over. Seeing Xu Feng clean and dust-free, surrounded by a group of meek prisoners, he was at a loss.

He had expected Xu Feng’s head to have been severed by now.

“Left Young Master, please release him. No major disaster has occurred yet. I hope you won’t make things difficult for me,” Feng Yuzhi spoke up.

Left Jin Cheng’s resolve to keep him locked up only hardened—he was determined to teach Xu Feng a lesson this time.

“That would be against protocol. I can’t just act on my own within the Six Doors.”

“What’s so improper about it? If you can put someone in, you can release them. I think you just don’t want to show my sister any face. Fine, then we’ll take this to the government ourselves.”

The Feng family still held influence in Gusu City. With the two sisters personally involved, the Six Doors would likely not make things difficult.

At that moment, the prisoners crouching in the corner spoke up.

“Lord Xu has committed no crime. Why is he locked in here with us, the condemned? We ask this young master to take him away.”

“Please, let him go. We face execution come autumn. Can’t we at least live out the rest of our days in peace?”

One by one, the condemned prisoners implored, some even threatening Left Jin Cheng with suicide if Xu Feng was not freed.

Left Jin Cheng’s mind couldn’t process it. Were these really the same prisoners he remembered? They were all obedient as if tamed cats.

Aren’t they supposed to be fierce fiends—those who obey thrive, those who resist perish?

Now, they resembled a group of beggars, utterly meek, nothing like the bullies he expected.

The two sisters exchanged glances, suspicion creeping anew.

Even fearing the Tianxiang Pavilion wouldn’t reduce them to such cowardice. These men were already condemned; at worst, the Pavilion could only threaten their lives. Why would they be so terrified?

As Left Jin Cheng hesitated to release them, one prisoner’s anger erupted. He grabbed a dagger from the ground and plunged it into his own chest.

“Better to die early and be reborn than to suffer here,” he declared.

“I’m leaving first.”

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Left Jin Cheng finally snapped out of it, his scalp tingling.

If all of them committed suicide, no one could bear the responsibility. He was merely borrowing the Six Doors’ territory.

If trouble arose, the Six Doors would demand an explanation, and chaos would surely follow.

“Stop! No one is to die. I will take him out now.”

Left Jin Cheng produced the keys and unlocked the cell, releasing Xu Feng.

Throughout, Xu Feng remained calm and collected, his clothes neat and unruffled.

He looked nothing like a prisoner locked in a celestial dungeon—more like someone out for a leisurely stroll.

“You brat, I don’t care how you did it, but mark my words, this isn’t over. We’ll see about that,” Left Jin Cheng warned.

Failing this ploy, he had no face to stay and strode away, leaving the two sisters, Xu Feng, and the trembling condemned behind.

“I’m off. Stay put and behave yourselves. See you,” Xu Feng leisurely turned to greet the prisoners.

Feng Yumiang was dumbfounded. She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the celestial prison.

After leaving, Xu Feng ignored Feng Yuzhi entirely, not even offering a greeting. This infuriated her.

She wished now she had left him there to learn a lesson—he was always an eyesore before her.

Especially seeing the closeness between him and Feng Yumiang, Feng Yuzhi’s heart ached like a stubborn thorn, impossible to remove or ignore.