Chapter 20: The Prison of Heaven and Earth, Haunted County Magistrate's Office

When necessary, Lu Sha would use the Hundred-Eyed Ghost to conjure an illusion that veiled the cell, preventing other prisoners or wardens from seeing what was happening inside.

But Old Zhang’s origins were a mystery, and such tricks were useless against him.

At this moment, the filthy, disheveled old man was sprawled against a pillar in the cell, staring blankly at Lu Sha, his expression dazed.

“Spirit… spirit…” he muttered to himself, as if possessed.

“Old man, what’s wrong with you?” Lu Sha waved a hand before his eyes, but it had no effect.

“Spirit… spirit…” Old Zhang continued to chant, his eyes growing crazed.

Just as Lu Sha was about to slap him awake, the old man suddenly stood up, his entire demeanor transformed in an instant.

The confusion and haze vanished, replaced by a look of deep sorrow and heaviness.

The change was so abrupt that Lu Sha was momentarily stunned.

“Sir, did you just remember something?” After a pause, Lu Sha asked curiously.

“The appearance of that little fox made me recall some things… things of great importance…”

“I must go now. Young friend, if fate allows, we shall meet again.”

Old Zhang lifted his head, his gaze piercing through the tiny window of the death cell, staring into the night sky outside.

The heavens were pitch-black, unfathomably deep.

But it was the final darkness before dawn—the light was about to come.

“You’re leaving? Where to?” Lu Sha asked in surprise.

“Yes, where to? The world is vast, yet it is still a prison… a prison all the same!” Old Zhang shook his head in grief, but still raised his foot to head outside.

His figure seemed insubstantial, passing straight through the wall, vanishing from the cell in the blink of an eye.

“Wait! This place has become a deathly forbidden ground—no one can leave!” Lu Sha called out in haste, but when he looked outside, Old Zhang’s figure was already gone.

This enigmatic old man had simply disappeared.

Could the forbidden ground truly hold him?

With that thought, Lu Sha fell silent.

Not long after Old Zhang’s departure, the morning sun rose, spilling golden light into the cell.

Warm and comforting.

The long night had finally passed!

…

At noon, Zhao Erhu, as usual, brought a heap of meat for Lu Sha.

As he ate, Lu Sha said to him, “Old Zhang has left. No need to bring so much next time.”

“Old Zhang? Who’s that?” Zhao Erhu looked puzzled, a bit lost.

“The old man in the cell next to mine,” Lu Sha replied, pointing at the now empty cell.

…

“Lu, are you sure you’re all right? The cell next to yours has always been empty! You didn’t run into something unclean, did you?” Zhao Erhu’s expression changed, panic creeping in.

“Empty? Look how cramped the other cells are—why would they leave one empty?” Lu Sha’s face darkened, and he pressed the question.

“This… I…” Zhao Erhu was at a loss for words.

Lu Sha ignored him, beckoning two wardens over.

After questioning them, he discovered that they too had no recollection of Old Zhang, which chilled him to the core.

Lu Sha had inquired into Old Zhang’s past before.

According to Zhao Erhu, the old man had been found lying in a stupor on the street and was thrown into the death cell as a scapegoat by the authorities.

Any cellmate who stayed with him for a while would go mad and become terribly noisy.

Eventually, they simply gave Old Zhang a cell to himself.

But now, with his departure, the wardens had lost all memory of him—only Lu Sha remembered.

Such uncanny means were truly astonishing!

That old man must have once been someone formidable, though how he’d fallen so low remained a mystery.

…

“All right, you all get back to your duties. What I said earlier—just forget about it, call it my nonsense,” Lu Sha said after finishing his meal, handing the food box back to Zhao Erhu and dismissing the wardens.

In life, there are countless passersby.

Old Zhang’s departure would not affect his own life.

After the meal, as usual, Lu Sha practiced the Turtle Essence Qi Cultivation twice, then took out the Dragon Elephant Technique.

This martial art was excellent—first-rate, containing cultivation methods, corresponding martial techniques, and prescriptions for medicines and elixirs.

Lu Sha ignored the latter two and began by practicing the basic cultivation method.

The first step in martial arts: forging the body.

The practitioner refined essence into qi, filling the body with vital energy, which was then used to temper and nourish the body.

The first part to temper was the skin—this was the initial substage of body forging, the Skin Tempering Stage.

After reading through several times, Lu Sha began cultivating as instructed in the Dragon Elephant Technique.

Refine essence into qi, temper the skin!

Two hours later, Lu Sha succeeded in entering the basic level, strengthening his vitality and tempering his body.

To achieve this without a teacher was already a remarkable pace.

Moreover, the Dragon Elephant Technique was no mediocre method—its entry threshold was not low.

This showed the depth of Lu Sha’s insight and innate talent.

Yet, he still felt it was too slow!

“Wuling County is gradually becoming a forbidden ground; the process won’t take more than a year. At this rate, it’s far too slow—not nearly enough.”

“No, I must find a way.”

Lu Sha turned to the final section of the Dragon Elephant Technique, examining the prescriptions for medicines and elixirs.

There were several formulas, the simplest of which required only gathering the herbs in the right amounts, boiling them, and using the decoction for a medicinal bath.

No need for the careful crafting that other elixirs required.

Lu Sha was no alchemist—how could he manage that?

This recipe was called the Tiger Essence Vitalizing Poultice.

The ingredients included tiger bone, ginseng, angelica, ganoderma, and others.

Most were precious herbs—the older, the better.

Though Lu Sha had obtained some wealth from looting corpses, it was far from enough.

It seemed he needed to deal with the county constable’s family as soon as possible.

If he didn’t fleece that fat pig, where would he find the money for herbs?

“Within three days, I must bring down the County Constable’s residence!”

A cold glint flashed in Lu Sha’s eyes—urgency appearing there for the first time.

He had once been wary of that fat Daoist priest.

But now, with the Hundred-Eyed Ghost and the Bone of Yin Fire under his command, his strength had soared!

That very day, the Bone of Yin Fire transformed into a bone serpent and slipped into the County Constable’s residence, lying in wait.

The blue barrier that had barred Lu Sha months ago was now of no consequence.

But he was in no rush to act.

The first step was to instill terror.

Lu Sha planned to stir up a commotion at night, spreading fear.

People possess human spirit; when gathered, it burns like fire.

Though Liu Yuanhu, the drill master, was gone, there were still over twenty armed guards in the County Constable’s residence, all trained in martial arts.

There were also many servants—altogether nearly a hundred people.

If they united, their collective spirit would blaze fiercely, suppressing ghosts and demons.

But if panic took hold and unity was lost, they’d be much easier to deal with.

The timid and cowardly were more susceptible to malevolent forces.

Those unafraid and skeptical were less likely to attract spirits.

Armies, in particular, seldom experienced hauntings.

Of course, this was relative.

Should a ghost king arrive, courage and spirit would be useless.

…

Daylight passed swiftly.

In the dead of night, Lu Sha controlled the bone serpent forged from the Bone of Yin Fire, sending it slithering throughout the County Constable’s residence to observe.

After a stealthy circuit, he had a clear grasp of the situation.

The fat Daoist and Zhou Bo’s rooms were adjacent, heavily fortified with talismans and magical implements.

A direct assault was not a wise choice.

So Lu Sha set his sights on two guards who rose during the night.

—

There will be another chapter today.