Chapter 373
Chapter 373
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 373
>Chapter Title: Goodwill
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Seeing the face-changing performer trembling in fear before him, Li Huowang was about to peel off the man's face to see how many faces he had.
When the situation turned sour, the innkeeper, who had been calculating fortunes at the counter, hurried over to smooth things over. "Esteemed guest! Esteemed guest! My apologies, truly my apologies. My staff offended you. How about this—your meal is on the house, and I'll throw in an extra soup for your group?"
Li Huowang paused in place for a few seconds before slowly retracting his hand and sitting back down.
"What's wrong with you? Why so tense?" Bai Lingmiao asked, puzzled by his unusual behavior.
Li Huowang let out a light sigh. That face-changing performer had reminded him of the Sit-Forget Daoists switching faces, so he'd overreacted a bit.
Li Huowang picked up his bowl and continued eating as he explained to her, "It's nothing. This is the capital, the Surveillance Bureau's turf. The Sit-Forget Daoists shouldn't be able to infiltrate here."
After hurriedly finishing their meal, Li Huowang switched to a different inn without a theater troupe and checked in before heading alone to the address in the letter.
Unfamiliar with the capital, it wasn't until deep into the night after curfew that Li Huowang finally found the place.
With a "creak," the wooden door opened. The Registrar poked his head out holding a lantern, glanced around to confirm no one else was there, and quickly pulled Li Huowang inside.
Li Huowang looked up into the courtyard and saw it was a small yard. Aside from a well, a large jujube tree took up most of the space. He was genuinely surprised that an official like the Registrar lived in such a modest place—it didn't even seem to have any house servants.
Though small, it was exceptionally refined. Perfect for a family of three.
"Erjiu, we've been waiting day and night for you to finally arrive." The smiling, pale-faced old eunuch grabbed Li Huowang's hand and wouldn't let go.
Li Huowang forcefully pulled his hand free and cupped his hands toward the Registrar. "Many thanks to the Registrar for your assistance. I shall never forget it!"
"Heh heh heh, no need, no need." The Registrar eyed Li Huowang with a smile, who knows what was going through his mind.
Now that he'd met the man in person, Li Huowang didn't stand on ceremony—after all, the other owed him a favor. "Registrar, regarding what you mentioned in your letter about contacting the Military School and having a way to dispel the baleful aura— is that true?"
Priorities mattered, and Li Huowang still felt Bai Lingmiao's issue was more urgent than his own.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I knew you'd ask about that, so I prepared everything. Shall we head out now?"
Li Huowang didn't know why the other seemed even more eager than him, but for something like this, he only wished it were faster, not slower. He immediately followed the Registrar through the corridor to the back gate, where two sedans were already waiting.
"Kindly board the sedan, my lord~" The four bearers knelt neatly on the ground with practiced ease.
This was Li Huowang's first time in a sedan, and honestly, it was uncomfortable—rocking and swaying like motion sickness.
The Registrar lifted the sedan curtain and called eagerly to Li Huowang's sedan beside his. "Brother Erjiu, just arrived in the capital—where are you staying? Did you like that courtyard just now? If you did, how about I leave it for you?"
"My deepest thanks for your generosity, Registrar, but I can't accept such a lavish gift without merit."
For some reason, Li Huowang felt that ever since the Heart Turmoil, this eunuch's enthusiasm was over the top. Who gives away a house after just a few words?
Hearing Li Huowang's words, the Registrar feigned displeasure. "Aiya~ Brother Erjiu, you're being too distant. What's this about no merit? You helped me out so much before—a little house is nothing. It was meant for my retirement anyway. The location isn't great, but don't mind that."
"So it's settled then. The keys and deed are under your sedan seat. Oh, and I left some worthless little trinkets in the house too."
Li Huowang reached under his buttocks and immediately felt three brass keys and some papers.
Sitting in the rocking sedan, Li Huowang examined these items, pondering the other's intentions.
After mulling it over for a while, Li Huowang realized the man wanted to repay the favor outright with the house. Those "little trinkets" in the house were probably no ordinary items either.
"Giving me his retirement house—what does that mean? Does he plan to quit the Surveillance Bureau?"
As Li Huowang pondered this, the sedan curtain lifted, and the bearer's humble voice rang out. "Kindly disembark, my lord~"
Li Huowang stuffed the keys and deed into his robes and bent down to exit the sedan. As soon as he looked up, a massive lion head with bared teeth leaped right in front of him.
Taking a few steps back, Li Huowang saw it was another yamen prison. The Registrar seemed thoroughly tied to these jails.
With a creaking sound, the prison gates parted slightly, and the Registrar led Li Huowang inside.
The entire prison had double gates and double walls, exceptionally sturdy. After the first gate came a second, smaller one that required stooping low and crouching to pass.
Further in was the third gate. Its frame bore a carved tiger—or as the Registrar quietly explained, the legendary fierce beast Bi'an.
As the third gate opened, gazes like tangible blades fixed upon them. Gradually adjusting to the dim prison light, Li Huowang made out who was watching him.
How to put it? If he had to describe it, what lay before him was a room full of Peng Longtengs.
These jailers with characters carved into their faces stood or lay about, drinking or playing finger-guessing games. They were all from the Military School, their presence keeping the baleful aura in the air thick and heavy—hard to even breathe.
Li Huowang could scarcely imagine what kind of existence in this prison required such a group to suppress it.
"Aiya, isn't this Eunuch Chen? What wind blew you here?" An elderly jailer drinking nearby looked at the Registrar in surprise, his thick white sideburns connecting from left earlobe to right.
"Heh heh heh~ Captain Cao, long time no see—I've missed you. How's the family?" The Registrar sidled up with a smile.
"Not bad, same as always. My daughter-in-law and son fight every other day. Hold on, let me light some incense for the Prison God first."
Following Captain Cao's movements, Li Huowang noticed a stone-carved shrine embedded midway up the left wall.
Inside were three brick-carved deities: the central seated elder looked kindly and dignified enough. But the two little ghosts flanking him were the opposite—fierce and malevolent, grotesque and demonic.
That central elder was the so-called Prison God.
(End of chapter)