Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 32 Quicksand Prison Walls

The warden hurriedly led the guards to Bai Shandian's cell. He was about to send someone to fetch Hong Yueliang when Bai Shandian said, "Come on, let's go to cell number 11!" The warden fawned, "Lord Bai, the air in there is filthy, perhaps you shouldn't go?" Bai Shandian said resolutely, "I must go today, and I must be quick!" The warden then realized he probably had important business to attend to, and quickly spread his hands, "Please, Lord Bai!" and went into the cell first. After turning several corners, Bai Shandian suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented. He quickly focused his energy in his dantian and circulated his inner strength to calm himself down, thinking to himself, "These high walls and deep alleys are truly sinister. They seem to harbor a hidden demonic power, making one's mind somewhat scattered and giving rise to a sense of terror." The warden probably saw through his thoughts and smiled as he reminded him, "Lord Bai, you can try not to look at the surrounding high walls. Just look at my back. As long as your attention is not distracted, you won't fall into its trap!" Bai Shandian did as he was told, and sure enough, his mind calmed down a bit, and the tightness in his chest and shortness of breath disappeared.

Soon they arrived at the regular women's prison. Peeking through the bars, they saw about thirty female inmates of all ages and genders. The cramped room, barely a hundred square meters, was packed with people. Red Moon, a seasoned veteran, had been elected prison bully by the inmates after just one night. She sat on a makeshift bed closest to the door, enjoying the warm sunlight streaming in from the window, dozing off. A pretty young female inmate was gently massaging her back.

"Red Moon!" The warden's booming voice, like a broken gong, startled Red Moon so much she nearly fell to the ground. She shuddered and stood up, seeing it was the warden, and hurriedly smiled obsequiously, "Sir, what brings you here? What business do you have with me?" The warden smiled coldly, "I'm not looking for you, this esteemed gentleman from the capital is! Come and greet Lord Bai." Upon seeing Bai Shandian, Red Moon, sensing the situation, curtsied and smiled, "This humble woman greets Lord Bai." Bai Shandian's gaze burned fiercely, fixed on her beautiful eyes, and suddenly he demanded sharply, "What do the blessings of Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, Happiness, and Wealth represent? Red Moon! Can you explain it to me?" The warden was astonished by his sudden question, and Red Moon was utterly bewildered. The female prisoners burst into laughter, each thinking to themselves: "They probably came here early in the morning looking for some amusement because the master thief is so pretty! Look at them, making small talk, so filthy and shameless!"

White Lightning secretly observed Red Moon's expression. Seeing that she remained unmoved and not panicked, he secretly admired her composure as a kingpin. He smiled coldly and probed, "You don't understand the meaning of 'harmony in the family brings prosperity,' but you should at least know the difference between 999 gold and 999 gold, right?" Although Red Moon couldn't understand White Lightning's nonsense for a moment, she was very clever and knew that there was always a deep pool beneath the surface of a rapid current. This kid was very cunning and was probably up to some kind of conspiracy! Feigning ignorance and adopting a docile, lamb-like demeanor, she chuckled, "This humble woman truly knows nothing about gold. Lord Bai, you've traveled far and wide, possessing vast knowledge of history and the present; of course, you're no ordinary person. I'd like to hear your details!" Bai Shandian's gaze lingered on her delicate, flawless face, his voice chilling as he spoke, "999 gold only contains 99% gold, while 99.9% gold alloy contains 99.9%! 99.9% gold is purer. In fact, the purer the gold, the softer it is. The softer it is, the less it can be made into gold jewelry or necklaces; it can only be made into gold ingots, bars, or bricks. Therefore, most manufacturers add impurities, making it less expensive than 999 gold! This is the strange thing about outsiders; no wonder some people are confused." As he spoke, his gaze grew even colder, like a hook, as if he wanted to pounce on and devour the red moon. Her mouth continued its incessant chatter, spouting strange tales: "Actually, people are strange creatures. The deeper they hide, the more insecure they are, because they're worthless, like pure gold! Last night, a theft occurred at the Xiang Mansion in Jiangnan. The perpetrator was a woman who used her slender fingers to steal the strange book 'The Complete Book of Jianghu'! Even more ridiculous, she was quite interested in the five golden statues of deities displayed in the mansion's living room. But being cunning and shrewd, she lightly cut the statues with a blade, instantly suppressing her desire to steal them. It turns out those five golden statues of fortune, prosperity, longevity, happiness, and wealth were counterfeit!" At this point, everyone suddenly realized that the imperial spies hadn't come to the prison early that morning to distract Red Moon; on the contrary, they had come to interrogate her with cunning intent!

"Princess—" Unexpectedly, Red Moon laughed in anger, coldly questioning White Lightning: "So, after all this time, you suspect me? Hmph! You can bring every inmate in cell number 11 to the interrogation room and ask them one by one whether I stepped out of the cell last night. Lord White, if you still don't believe me, you can lead all the jailers to my cell and search it to see if the doors, windows, and bars have been moved!" White Lightning glared at her, but remained silent.

Warden Bu Tong knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, pleading incessantly, "Ah, so this is what happened! No wonder Lord Bai is so angry! If it really was Hong Yueliang's doing, I'm afraid I won't escape blame either!" Bai Shandian's face was as cold as ice, and he rebuked in a deep voice, "Speak, you surnamed Hong! I know your abilities. Although this place is supposedly impregnable, it's nothing but a piece of cake for you. You can leave whenever you want, you're really something." "No trace of snow, no damage to doors or windows!" Red Moon snorted coldly, spitting out a curse, and said angrily, "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a reason! Lord Bai, I never thought you would frame me like this! Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the streets, frozen corpses lie. My father has been an official for many years, how could I not know the dangers of officialdom? Fine! Fine! Fine! I, a tiger fallen into the plains, am bullied by dogs; a dragon stranded on the beach, am mocked by shrimp. I accept it!" She then angrily plopped down on the bed, her eyebrows raised, her almond eyes wide open, and said no more.

The warden scrambled to his feet and charged at the cell door like a wild dog, pointing his halberd and yelling, "You brat, stand still and listen to Lord Bai's lecture! Who gave you the audacity to sit down like that! Do you think this is your general's mansion?" Red Moon angrily turned her head, glaring at him hatefully, but ignored him. The warden flew into a rage, roaring, "Rebellion! Rebellion! In a moment, I'll lock you in a prison within a prison—the death row! I'll make you wish you were dead!" The female prisoners couldn't help but sigh, knowing the taste of the death row. The walls were as thick as dikes, with a hidden passageway filled with fine sand. If someone tried to escape by breaking through the walls, simply moving a brick would cause the sand to overflow from the passageway, filling the death row and suffocating the prisoner! This was the "quicksand wall" that prisoners feared throughout history! Some might ask, "Can't he just climb over the walls and dig?" Absolutely impossible! The ground is paved with thick bluestone, and the roof is covered with a crisscrossing network of steel wire mesh. Even if a bird had wings, it couldn't escape! It's a true inescapable net, as solid as a rock! Moreover, the prison guards don't treat the condemned prisoners as human beings. They constantly find ways to torture them, whether it's depriving them of food and water or poking them with long sticks across the doors and windows... It's said that the law is like a furnace, and prisoners are like infernos. In such an environment, even the strongest person can be forged into a soft, yielding creature! Red Moon has offended the prison's top leader—the warden—undoubtedly angering the King of Hell. There's no way for her to escape!

"Why wait? I think it's better to throw her into death row now!" Bai Shandian smiled slyly, reminding the warden. He rushed to the guard's cell and rang the alarm bell. All the guards assembled, a dense, dark mass surrounding cell number 11. Swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks gleamed coldly, chilling the air! Two constables flung open the cell door and rushed forward like demons, grabbing Red Moon and pulling her by the arms. Unexpectedly, their hands went numb. Before they could even figure out what was happening, they were thrown out of the cell with a whoosh! Bai Shandian, with his sharp eyes, quickly dodged. The two mounds of flesh bounced twice with loud thuds, knocking down a large number of guards. Then, Red Moon nimbly leaped out of the cell like a cat!