Chapter 42: Sneak Attack

"No abnormalities!"

Shen Changqing frowned. Could his perception have been mistaken?

With this thought, he looked toward the bailiff: "Guard them strictly. Do not allow any lapses. If even a single person escapes, no one will escape the consequences!"

"Understood, sir!"

The man trembled and hurriedly bowed to accept the command.

Shen Changqing waved his hand, dismissing him.

Watching the bailiff's retreating back, the ominous premonition in his heart did not diminish; instead, it grew increasingly intense.

"Something is wrong!"

"There is definitely a problem!"

Shen Changqing's brow furrowed deeply. He had never experienced such a powerful premonition before. It meant that something truly bad might actually happen.

Standing in place, Shen Changqing fell into deep thought.

"Zhao Fang is a member of the Eternal Life Alliance. Now that the Zhao family is being purged and exterminated, it is not entirely impossible for the Alliance to make a move!"

"Furthermore, I killed the evil entity in Guyue Village, and Zhuang Mingyuan also died at my hands. As an organization capable of tripping up the Great Qin, the power held by the Eternal Life Alliance must be significant, not to mention the fact that there are monsters standing behind them."

"No matter how you look at it, there is no reason for the Eternal Life Alliance to stand idly by—"

After standing there for a long time, two words surfaced in Shen Changqing's mind again: *Prison Break!*

The Eternal Life Alliance was created by monsters for the purpose of dividing humanity.

If others were unaware of Zhao Fang's affiliation at first, then once the Zhao family was purged, a portion of people would certainly know the truth.

At this moment, if the Eternal Life Alliance failed to make any move, it would undoubtedly be detrimental to their future development.

Regardless, the Alliance had to demonstrate an attitude—one that could attract others to join and reassure their own members. Therefore, the probability of them attempting a prison break before the Zhao family's execution was not small at all.

Even if the prison break ultimately failed, others would realize that when one of their own was in trouble, the Eternal Life Alliance would not sit idly by.

In this way, those demonic practitioners who joined the Alliance would undoubtedly feel a stronger sense of belonging to the organization.

"I would like to see if you even have the qualification to attempt a prison break in front of me!"

Having confirmed his suspicions, Shen Changqing walked toward the outer hall.

Since it was not far, it did not take him long to arrive at the entrance to the prison passage. A group of bailiffs, led by Hong Cheng, were patrolling back and forth, holding torches and wearing swords.

Seeing Shen Changqing's arrival

"My Lord!"

Hong Cheng was startled at first but quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.

It was the middle of the night; he did not understand why Shen Changqing was not resting in the inner hall but had come here instead.

"Are there any abnormalities?"

"We are currently patrolling strictly, and so far, nothing unusual has been discovered," Hong Cheng replied truthfully.

Hearing this, Shen Changqing looked down at the dark passage below. That was the specific entrance to the prison; because the prison was located beneath the yamen, one could only enter by going down through here.

Of course, one could also enter the prison by digging from elsewhere, but the commotion would be massive, and the difficulty would be extraordinary. This was because the prison was not constructed of ordinary stone.

Back when the prison was built, the Imperial Court had already anticipated this possibility and had implemented corresponding preventative measures. Shen Changqing had learned quite a bit about this after taking over the yamen.

After glancing at the entrance a few times, his gaze fell upon Hong Cheng.

"From now on, I will stay here to guard. You all go back. Do not come out easily if you hear any sound."

"Does my Lord mean—"

Hong Cheng's expression turned solemn. The other man's words gave him an ill omen.

Shen Changqing stroked the hilt of his blade, a slight smile appearing on his face, though under the light of the torches, the smile appeared somewhat cold and sinister.

"Something might come to break the prisoners out, but this is not something you should interfere with."

If monsters truly attempted a prison break, it would not be a simple matter.

Among the bailiffs, only Hong Cheng was a Body Tempering Realm martial artist, but in Shen Changqing's eyes, his strength was pitifully weak. Facing monsters, let alone the Body Tempering Realm, even those in the Pulse Opening Realm had no hundred-percent guarantee of success.

"Please be careful, my Lord!"

Hong Cheng took a deep breath. Shen Changqing's words instantly made him realize certain things; he knew that staying here would only be a hindrance, so he immediately signaled the other bailiffs to leave.

Soon, Shen Changqing was the only one left at the prison entrance.

The moonlight shone down, dispelling a bit of the darkness, and the scene fell into silence.

Time passed bit by bit. The sound of the night watchman's clapper rang out from time to time.

Several hours passed, and not a single movement occurred.

Shen Changqing did not feel much impatience regarding this. In his view, if monsters came to break the prisoners out, he would intercept them all; if they didn't come, then so be it—peace and quiet was for the best.

The wind blew, causing the rustling of leaves, but the sounds of insects and birds suddenly vanished at this moment.

A faint, chilling aura crept in from all directions, causing goosebumps to rise uncontrollably.

*They're here!*

Shen Changqing's grip on his blade tightened slightly, but his expression remained calm, his eyes scanning the surroundings like lightning.

Monsters were formless and incorporeal. Unless they actively revealed themselves, it was difficult to pinpoint their exact location. However, monsters carried a natural, chilling aura; as long as they approached, that sensation was almost impossible to hide.

The current situation indicated that monsters were nearby, but their specific location remained unknown.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The sound of the howling wind grew louder.

Amidst the whistling wind, the faint sound of cheerful children laughing could be heard, yet upon listening closely, it sounded as if someone was weeping or cursing.

Despite such strange phenomena, Shen Changqing's mind did not waver in the slightest.

Before long, the scene before him suddenly shifted. He found that his surroundings had transformed from the yamen into a dilapidated temple at some unknown point.

The doorframes were leaning precariously, and cobwebs were everywhere.

A dark, indistinct shadow suddenly dropped from above, causing Shen Changqing's hand to tighten on his blade once more.

When he looked closely, he realized the shadow was actually a female corpse hanging from a rope.

The corpse's limbs were stiff, her hair was disheveled, and her face was deeply decayed. One eye socket was empty, leaving only a hollow darkness, while the other eye, with maggots writhing within, stared fixedly at him.

Before Shen Changqing could react, he suddenly felt a tightness around his neck. A straw rope dropped from the beam, intending to hang him.

Pure Yang True Qi erupted.

Shen Changqing grabbed the rope with one hand, forcibly incinerating it.

At that moment, a chilling sensation surged from the depths of his heart. The female corpse before him began to struggle violently as if coming back to life, the decayed flesh on her face falling away as she thrashed.

Seeing this, the Pure Yang True Qi in his dantian was fully mobilized, instantly sweeping through his entire body. Shen Changqing gripped the hilt with one hand; the moment the long blade left its scabbard, it spat out like raging flames. The surrounding temperature rose sharply, dispelling the chill entirely.

*Boom—!*

The long blade slashed out, and the female corpse was severed in response. Black blood and decayed viscera scattered across the ground, accompanied by a piercing shriek.

Shen Changqing saw the vision before him distort, and in the next breath, he was back inside the yamen.

The blade, covered in Pure Yang True Qi, made a sizzling sound as if it were incinerating something, and a familiar aura flowed into his body along the length of the blade.