The City Guard Captain felt that the petty thief in front of him was definitely insulting his intelligence.
He grabbed Jiang Ke’er by the sleeve, a cruel smile forming as he admired her panicked expression.
“Little thief, welcome to prison!”
The group of burly City Guards seemed to have found some fun in their otherwise dull lives.
They laughingly escorted Jiang Ke’er directly to the prison, not even bothering with an interrogation.
Since she had been caught red-handed, what was there even to interrogate?
Jiang Ke’er’s face was deathly pale, and she trembled uncontrollably.
“Coming out to steal on New Year’s Day and then having the gall to steal from someone in an official uniform—just how miserable is your life?” the City Guard Captain remarked, prompting the surrounding City Guards to burst into laughter.
This little thief was truly something else.
“You happen to be the first thief caught in this city this year,” the City Guard Captain added.
Jiang Ke’er’s eyes lit up. “Are there any benefits for being first?”
The City Guard Captain froze. “What kind of benefits do you want?”
“Like, maybe choosing my own cell suite or a deluxe prison banquet?” Jiang Ke’er began counting them off on her fingers with an air of righteousness.
“It is the New Year, after all. Shouldn’t any respectable prison run some promotional events? Otherwise, how will you improve your performance for next year? How can you compete with other prisons?”
The City Guard Captain was stunned for a moment before he snarled, “Do you want the ultimate free prison massage package? I guarantee it comes complete with the Tiger Bench and Chili Water!”
“…I’ll pass on that,” Jiang Ke’er said, shrinking back.
“Bang—”
The prison door slammed shut, and Jiang Ke’er was locked behind the iron bars.
She glanced at the lock on the cell door… Child’s play.
She could undo it at any time with just a thought.
Every lock within her field of vision was the same; none of them exceeded the level her Unlocking Technique could handle, which gave her a great deal of peace of mind.
“Stay here quietly for seven days. Once those seven days are up, come out and turn over a new leaf. Got it?” the City Guard Captain said.
Jiang Ke’er nodded meekly like a frightened little quail.
Once she was sure the City Guards and the jailers had walked away, Jiang Ke’er began attempting to extend her consciousness to scout the interior of the prison.
As she expected, the prison indeed had extreme restrictions on the consciousness-probing abilities of Cultivators.
The moment Jiang Ke’er extended her consciousness outside her body, she felt an immense amount of mental pressure.
Fortunately, the strength of her consciousness was absurdly powerful. Even the professional Consciousness Limiting Array within the prison could not completely suppress her perception.
Jiang Ke’er closed her eyes and, enduring the painful pressure that made it difficult to breathe, extended her consciousness toward the depths of the prison.
She inspected the cells on both sides one by one…
Not this one, not that one, not this one.
None of these ordinary cells held Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn.
As her consciousness delved deeper, Jiang Ke’er’s mood grew increasingly grim.
The prisoners held in these cells clearly became more depraved the further in they were, and their conditions were even more wretched.
After checking over a hundred cells, Jiang Ke’er saw prisoners who were barely recognizable as human—to prevent them from escaping, their limbs had all been severed, and they were hung against the walls.
Yet there was still no sign of Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn. She was likely in an even deeper, more unbearable place.
Candle shadows flickered, and the cell walls were covered in dried bloodstains. Jiang Ke’er’s consciousness had reached the end of this Floor.
“Creak—”
Accompanied by the sound of a rusted hinge, an iron door leading deeper underground was pulled open at the end of the cell row.
Jiang Ke’er quickly funneled her consciousness through the iron door.
Below the door, Jiang Ke’er could clearly feel an even more severe sense of oppression.
It was likely that the Consciousness Limiting Array for the entire prison, as well as most of the security arrays, were hidden down here.
This was the darkest and most horrific core area of the prison.
On both sides of the walls hung various bloodstained torture implements. Jiang Ke’er could hardly imagine the tragic scenes that occurred when these tools were used on living beings.
And here, she finally found Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn.
Thank heavens, Gan Ruǎnruǎn’s limbs were intact, and her body showed few signs of having been tortured.
However, her lower abdomen was wrapped in gauze, and mottled bloodstains were seeping through. It was clear that there had once been a deep wound there.
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn remained motionless. Jiang Ke’er hurriedly wrapped her consciousness around her to carefully examine her physical condition.
Her breathing was steady as she lay on a straw mat in an isolated cell; she had simply fainted.
There was a faint scent of medicinal residue at the corner of her mouth, likely something used by the opponent when they captured her.
“Ruan Ruan? Can you hear me?” Jiang Ke’er tried to find a way to communicate directly with Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn’s consciousness.
“Amm-mu-wu~”
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn smacked her lips and turned over irritably, reaching a hand into her trousers to scratch her backside.
“…”
It seemed she was fine.
This kind of thick-headedness, which rivaled that of Jie Shui, caused Jiang Ke’er’s worries to vanish instantly.
“Wake up, you idiot. It’s me, Qing Yi,” Jiang Ke’er continued to call out helplessly.
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn finally woke up.
She snapped her eyes open and looked around at the empty air, muddled. “What’s going on? I think I just dreamed of Qing Yi’s voice?”
“It’s me. You can’t see me,” Jiang Ke’er continued her transmission.
“…Am I not awake yet?” Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn dithered for a moment, then closed her eyes and lay back down on the straw mat.
“You aren’t dreaming. It’s me. I’m using Divine Sense to communicate with you,” Jiang Ke’er hurriedly stopped her before she could fall back asleep.
“Hiss—” Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn’s eyes widened as she sucked in a breath of cold air. “How is it possible for you to contact me with Divine Sense inside the prison?”
“Shh. Don’t act too surprised, and don’t speak. I’ll ask, and you answer with your fingers. If it’s ‘yes,’ move your index finger. If it’s ‘no,’ move your middle finger.”
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn nodded to show she understood.
“Did you see Venerable Ye?” Jiang Ke’er asked.
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn moved her index finger.
“He didn’t kill you—is he trying to use you as bait? To trick us into walking into a trap?”
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn quickly moved her index finger again.
This was bad.
Si Lian was likely in danger.
“Did they torture you?”
Middle finger. No.
But Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn quickly shook her head again and whispered, “I don’t know. I had a long sleep and just woke up.”
…Then it basically meant they hadn’t.
“Last question. What happened to the wound on your stomach? Was it an injury from Martial Arts?”
“Eh?”
Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn blinked, as if she had only just realized her stomach was injured.
She moved her middle finger, indicating it wasn’t an injury from Martial Arts.
Jiang Ke’er’s heart instantly climbed into her throat.
She cautiously extended her consciousness into the wound on Gan Ruǎnruǎn’s lower abdomen, seeping in bit by bit.
She moved slowly, not daring to speed up.
As she explored, Jiang Ke’er gradually figured out the situation.
First, should she have expected it? She discovered that in Gan Ruǎnruǎn’s lower abdomen, the place that should have held a certain organ was now a large, empty cavity.
“…Your kidney is gone again,” Jiang Ke’er said, speechless.
“Gone again? Wait, why did you say ‘again’?”
“Also,” Jiang Ke’er said, her head aching, “they put a bomb in there.”