Chapter 1214: Almost Got Scammed

With several loud bangs, the sturdy wooden door of the prison began to burn, while arrows shot through the windows exploded inside the cells, igniting the dry straw.

From where He Lingchuan stood, he could still see the flames in the prison erupting, growing brighter and brighter.

“I’ve been to this city. Its walls are three zhang and three chi high,” Fu Liushan said to his teammates in the forest outside Jucheng. “How long can you hold your breath while running?”

Everyone looked at each other and replied that they could hold it for at least two hundred breaths. Cultivators have long, steady breaths and powerful cardiopulmonary function.

So Fu Liushan distributed a talisman to each of them: “Put on the Bixia people’s armor, and then wear this Ghost Shadow Talisman. Remember to hold your breath before wearing it; then ordinary people won’t be able to see you, as if you were ghosts. But as soon as you exhale, the talisman’s invisibility effect will disappear, and it will take five breaths to reactivate it, so—”

“We need to hold our breath, climb over the city gate, and enter Jucheng. There are likely ambushes inside the city, so don't be careless once you're in. Don't step on soft ground to avoid leaving footprints.”

They were at the South Gate when a guard said, “If we enter from the north, there’s a row of low houses behind the gate where we can hide.”

“You know that, don’t the Bixia people know that too?” Fu Liushan glared. “Prepare yourselves, wear the talismans!”

The team quickly changed into Bixia military uniforms, took several deep breaths, held them, donned the talismans, and then stealthily approached the North Gate, climbing up.

Their vision after wearing the talismans was strange, appearing in a dense grayscale, but it wasn’t obstructed by darkness and allowed them to see extremely far.

Was this what ghosts saw?

Guards moved back and forth along the city wall, occasionally pacing.

Just as several team members were about to pass among them, a light suddenly flashed within the city, followed by loud shouts!

“Enemy attack!”

“Fire!”

The city wall guards immediately started running, rushing to the other side to look into the inner city.

Fu Liushan himself was nearly run into, the guard’s wide-open mouth almost brushing the back of his head. Startled, he lurched his body sideways, and the person brushed past his shoulder, creating a gust of wind.

That was close! They almost gave themselves away!

An enemy attack? Why at this exact moment?

Besides their own side, who else would come looking for trouble in the middle of the night?

The other team members were also astute, dodging and weaving, and although they had several close calls, they ultimately didn’t actually collide with anyone.

However, when the team looked down, they saw a long array of revealing lamps.

Could they get past it?

They exchanged glances, then all looked at Fu Liushan.

Fu Liushan also hesitated. These revealing lamps could even illuminate true ghosts, so the Ghost Shadow Talismans they wore would be useless. Once they descended, they would become visible and draw out all the ambushing forces within the city.

But if they didn’t descend and their held breath ran out, they would also be discovered.

What should they do? Should they retreat the way they came?

As he pondered his dilemma, the gate official shouted a few commands, and over thirty soldiers on the city wall were dispatched to descend in formation.

Coincidentally, the ladder entrance was shrouded in the shadow of the gate tower. Fu Liushan saw this and had a flash of inspiration, gesturing to everyone:

“Go!”

They slipped into the shadows, and only when the last Bixia soldier ahead of them descended the city ladder, did they remove their Ghost Shadow Talismans and follow closely behind!

What was so great about a revealing array?

They were already wearing Bixia military uniforms, so they would boldly walk through the array!

As they passed through the array, everyone’s hearts were in their throats, fearing a shout from behind and then a rain of arrows.

Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.

The small team kept their heads down and followed the soldiers into an alley.

Fu Liushan quietly cast a ‘Ghost Eye Sight’ spell, and could even see a surging aura of human vitality behind the low houses.

Living people have a vital essence, and soldiers’ vital energy is even more robust than ordinary people’s. This is how ghosts perceive people. By simulating ‘Ghost Eye Sight,’ Fu Liushan could detect this so-called ‘human vitality.’

Indeed, many people were ambushed here!

Fortunately, they had slipped past. If they had revealed themselves, they would likely have been swarmed and chopped into mincemeat.

After following the army ahead through a few turns, the team again donned their Ghost Shadow Talismans and quietly separated, crossing empty, deserted streets, and slipping behind a row of storefronts. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Phew, they were visible again.

“There really was an ambush!”

“What happened in the city?”

Another team member said, “I heard the guards say the place with soaring flames is in the direction of the county yamen.”

“Huh? Did someone act before us?”

Everyone looked at Fu Liushan, who was panting heavily. “Why are you looking at me? I didn’t do it. Did your general send another team?”

He was old; even holding his breath was this exhausting!

Everyone could only shake their heads, clueless.

“Master Fu, what should we do now?” someone asked. “With flames soaring, even if we rush to the prison, the county will be prepared.”

“Since there’s an ambush, your young master might not necessarily be held in the main prison,” Fu Liushan said calmly. “Someone has gone to test the waters, drawing away the attention of the soldiers for us. This is a good thing.”

Those tricky people almost got them into trouble just now!

Suddenly attacked, with fires breaking out all around, the prison was instantly filled with shouts of alarm.

Soon, jailers pushed open the cell doors and rushed out in a panic.

The officers outside angrily shouted, “Where are the prisoners? Don’t let them all burn to death!”

So another group of people surged in to escort the prisoners out.

Soon, the prison courtyard was filled with prisoners, about seventeen or eighteen of them. But He Lingchuan, looking by the light of the fire, saw no familiar faces among them.

Situ He was either not yet rescued or unfortunately shot dead by him, or he wasn’t imprisoned here at all.

He thought the former possibility was very small.

At that moment, someone below shouted, “The watchtower, the watchtower is shooting arrows!”

They had already realized where the arrows were coming from.

The people in the watchtower climbed onto the roof to check, only to find three corpses and three repeating crossbows. Where were the others?

No good, they had fallen into a trap!

This person climbed down from the watchtower and rushed into the yamen to report.

He Lingchuan was waiting for this moment.

As a dispatch runner passed under a tree, a spider the size of a grain of rice dropped down, landing perfectly on his shoulder.

It was as light as nothing and didn’t attract his attention.

The eyeball spider quickly crawled into his collar and settled there.

Thus, He Lingchuan soon overheard the conversations within the yamen.

The runner reported the situation on the watchtower, and the Bixia-appointed county magistrate immediately asked the guard beside him:

“Any news about the death row prisoner?”

Just that one sentence told He Lingchuan that Situ He was imprisoned elsewhere.

“Not yet.”

“Send a signal and see how they reply.” The prison was already burning, so the magistrate was naturally uneasy about the death row prisoner, who was meant to be bait, fearing it was a feint by the enemy.

“Yes,” the guard replied and ran off.

The eyeball spider leaped with effort, landing on the hem of his garment.

It followed the guard as he rushed up to the second floor of the yamen.

Then, the guard took out a mirror and flashed it a few times toward the south.

It was very rhythmic.

This was the signal being sent.

To ensure the other party received it, he repeated the signal several times.

However, although the clusters of buildings to the south awakened from the darkness, with lights coming on everywhere, there seemed to be no flashing signal sent back.

The guard wasn’t worried. He merely took out two grass knots from his pocket and placed them in his palm.

About ten-odd breaths later, one of the grass knots suddenly broke on its own.

The guard immediately took it downstairs and presented it to the magistrate: “My Lord, only one grass knot broke. The death row prisoner is safe.”

These grass knots were called 'Thousand Knots'. He Lingchuan had seen them before through Wanqifeng. Each time they were crafted, a pair was produced, and within a ten-li radius, if one broke, the other would break as well.

They were incredibly convenient for simple communication.

However, they could only be used for the simplest messages, such as answering “yes” or “no.”

He Lingchuan guessed with just a glance that this communication system likely used two pairs of Thousand Knots. One pair breaking meant safe, while both pairs breaking meant trouble.

Upon hearing this, the magistrate relaxed.

But the Soul-Seizing Mirror grumbled, “Oh, they’re not using mirror flashes to reply. How can we pinpoint their location then?”

“They’re using Thousand Knots instead of mirror reflections precisely because they’re afraid of being discovered,” He Lingchuan said, his eyes glinting, as he stood on a tree, surveying the south.

The Bixia people’s caution exceeded his expectations. But it didn’t matter; his plan could be revised at any time.

“But the range of mirror reflections isn’t far, the second floor of the yamen isn’t high enough, and there are a few trees outside blocking the view. The low-lying buildings to the south wouldn’t be able to receive this signal at all.”

Under the cover of night, he began to move stealthily southward.

“So the officials guarding the death row prisoner must also be in a high position to observe the mirror reflections,” He Lingchuan continued to analyze. He had only been to Jucheng yesterday and had some impression of the place. “Jucheng’s streets and alleys are narrow, irregular, and winding, making it inconvenient to move troops. The magistrate wouldn’t imprison the death row prisoner too far away, as it would be inconvenient to dispatch troops back and forth for supervision. So, it must be within a hundred and fifty zhang to the south at most.”

“Even if we narrow the range to within a hundred and fifty zhang, there are still many buildings, aren’t there? How do we find it?”

He Lingchuan explained: “We ate fried pastries to the south yesterday, and we know that area is mostly made up of single-story residential houses. Places with higher vantage points are usually only…”

The Soul-Seizing Mirror quickly answered: “Tall towers, inns, warehouses, shops!”

The authorities are unlikely to imprison a death row prisoner in private residences or operating inns.

There are no tall towers in Jucheng.

So that leaves only warehouses and vacant shops, right?

He Lingchuan jumped onto a large tree again, looking out to the south: “Jucheng is a small city. The yamen area is ablaze and very noisy. Ordinary residents will get up to see what’s happening. We were in the south yesterday; most shops have a front store and a back living area, so they’re inhabited.”

“So—our target is a three-story or taller warehouse or shop within a hundred and fifty zhang south of the county yamen, with no lights on!”

Since these officials were secretly holding a death row prisoner, they naturally wouldn’t dare to light up the place carelessly.

Even if other residents lit their lamps, they probably wouldn’t dare.

With the scope further narrowed, the target became very specific.

The Soul-Seizing Mirror helped its master search, and soon exclaimed, “Over there, over there! Look to your left! There’s a dark, three-story building!”

He Lingchuan crept over and found it was a defunct inn, with half its signboard fallen off.

He asked the mirror, “Do you sense any formations or barriers?”

“No.”

“Then it’s not here.” He didn’t even bother to go inside, turning to look for the next target.

Time was precious.

He Lingchuan also had bad luck, missing twice more: one was a dilapidated warehouse, and the other was a vacant stable.