Chapter 56: A Fortunate Opportunity Delivered to the Door

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Xu Boqing had just arrived at the Imperial Prison, his foot not yet across the threshold.

Warden Hu, accompanied by his trusted men, came out to greet him with a deep bow, calling out, “Your humble servant welcomes Lord Xu…”

“It has been several months since we last met, Warden Hu. Have you been well?”

“Thank you for your concern, my lord. All is well with your humble servant.”

Warden Hu glanced at Lord Xu’s attire—the flying fish robes had been replaced by a python-embroidered garment. He became even more deferential and, stepping aside with a smile, said, “Your humble servant has prepared a meal, along with two jars of thirty-year-old aged wine. Might my lord do me the honor of joining me for a conversation over food and drink?”

“After you, Warden Hu.”

“After you, Lord Xu.”

The two exchanged familiar smiles, just as they had a year ago.

Warden Hu, though somewhat slippery and greedy, was a man who got things done as long as he was paid; his work was always clean and left no room for criticism.

Xu Boqing bore him no ill will…

As they drank and exchanged toasts, the conversation soon turned to business.

Warden Hu made it clear that the monks from Prajna Monastery were all unruly, acknowledging no superior nor kin, and that the head monk, Huikong, had killed a warden by relying on his profound internal strength.

His words were laced with indignation, and between the lines was a plea for Lord Xu to intervene…

Xu Boqing had no reason to refuse.

After all, not only would this fulfill Chief Steward Huang’s dying wish, but it would also buy him favor with Warden Hu—and, besides, he could absorb the internal strength of a master at the innate level for himself…

Such an opportunity could not be found even with a lantern in hand.

After a few words of reassurance, he took the matter upon himself.

After eating and drinking their fill, guided by a group of wardens, they made their way deep into the prison to a cell…

There they saw the abbot of Prajna Monastery, Huikong—his shoulder blades pierced, tendons of hands and feet severed, limbs bound.

Warden Hu gave a signal, and the lead warden took out a key to open the cell.

Within, Huikong noticed their arrival. Seeing the wardens paving the way for a young eunuch dressed in python robes, he sneered and asked, “Has the prison run out of men, that you have to treat a castrate as an ancestor?”

The wardens, all seasoned men, kept their eyes lowered, pretending not to hear, unruffled and unmoved.

Warden Hu glanced cautiously at Lord Xu and said, “My lord, this is Huikong of Prajna Monastery. When my men tried to test his breath, he spat and killed one of them. Should we have his mouth sealed?”

“No need…”

Xu Boqing waved a hand casually. “Just wait outside.”

Warden Hu hesitated, then cupped his hands and said, “This villain has deep internal strength and may resort to other vile tricks. My lord, please be cautious…”

With that, he withdrew with the wardens.

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Xu Boqing nodded, waiting until they had retreated before stepping into the cell…

The old monk Huikong still wore a look of disdain, mocking, “Little eunuch, instead of serving your master in the palace, why come to the prison to seek death?”

“Just doing a favor for someone along the way…”

Xu Boqing did not rise to the taunt. He simply shook his head and said lightly, “But there’s something I don’t understand. Perhaps Master Huikong can help enlighten me?”

The old monk gave a cold laugh. “Why should I—why would I help a dog of the court find answers!?”

“Fair enough.”

Xu Boqing seemed not to hear the contempt in the words, and continued as if to himself, “You are the abbot of Prajna Monastery, a master of the innate realm with high standing in the martial world. Why would you involve yourself with the crown prince?”

Huikong shook his head, mocking, “Even if I told you, someone rootless like you would never understand.”

“Well then, I had hoped to let you speak your piece while you could, but since you refuse, so be it…”

Xu Boqing nodded, lost interest in further chatter, and reached out with his hand, grasping at the air before the old monk. He activated the “Devouring Star Technique” and got down to business.

Huikong was momentarily stunned…

Then, all at once, he felt his internal energy slipping from his control, pouring out of his body!

The speed of the loss…

It was faster than water gushing from a breached dam!

He could distinctly feel his body aging at a rate visible to the naked eye. Realizing this, terror filled his eyes as he stared at the young eunuch before him.

He struggled to reclaim his inner strength…

But his body refused to obey! Like an ant trying to shake a tree, not only did the flow of energy not slow, it even accelerated!

“You… you… you…”

His lips trembled as he tried to speak, but to his horror, with his energy depleted, his body seemed to have aged by more than twenty years—he was gasping so hard that even talking was a struggle.

After Xu Boqing finished, he did not spare the monk another glance. He dusted off his hands and left the cell.

Outside, Warden Hu saw him emerge unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped forward and asked, “That old monk is full of tricks—my lord, are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing. He’s just an ordinary man now.”

Xu Boqing smiled, as if something occurred to him, and said offhandedly, “Didn’t you say there were over a hundred martial monks imprisoned here? I’ll help rid you of these potential troubles as well, to prevent future chaos…”

Warden Hu was overjoyed at these words. He gave a signal to two of the wardens and quickly led the way.

The two wardens, knowing what was expected, exchanged a knowing smile as they entered the cell after Warden Hu and Lord Xu had departed.

Huikong, at this point, seemed as if his spine had been removed, slumped and utterly lifeless, his former vigor gone—he was but a step from death’s door…

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Still reeling from the discomfort of losing his inner strength, he looked up at the sound of footsteps…

When he saw the two wardens grinning wickedly as they picked out instruments of torture, his face twitched involuntarily…

“Tsk, tsk… The old fool isn’t making a sound anymore?”

“Bald old monk, didn’t you spit before? Hm? Spit for us again, let’s see!”

The two wardens, having chosen their tools, set to work—one pried open his mouth, the other pulled out his tongue. Afterwards, they sprinkled medicinal powder to staunch the bleeding, lest he die too soon…

…

Emperor Yonghe’s intent was to “make an example through strict punishment,” and when the Grand General of Xuanwu led elite troops to besiege Prajna Monastery, he had shown no mercy.

The martial monks of Prajna Monastery, lacking real skill, could not withstand the assault of elite soldiers.

Those strong enough to be brought back and imprisoned in the Imperial Prison were formidable indeed—a kind of selection by survival.

Over a hundred martial monks, all with profound inner strength at the acquired level. In the past, Xu Boqing would have had to proceed slowly…

Lest he suffer “indigestion.”

But now, even he could not say what level his martial prowess had reached. As long as he wished it, he could drain even masters of the innate realm from a distance, leaving them as dried husks—there were no longer any concerns to hold him back.

After eliminating the hidden threats in the prison, he could clearly sense his cultivation rising to a new height.

Witnessing with his own eyes so many martial masters reduced to withered husks after losing their inner strength—some, deprived of their energy and already elderly, even died on the spot—he felt a glimmer of understanding in his heart.

Since there are snake demons in this world, there must also be those who cultivate immortality. It is only that ordinary mortals have no way of encountering them.

And his own situation now was exceedingly peculiar…

To call himself an ordinary mortal, and yet with a body like a furnace and the Celestial Eye, he was clearly no longer within the bounds of ordinary men.

And yet, if he were to claim to be an immortal cultivator, he knew all too well his own situation—his practice was purely mortal martial arts, with no trace of immortal technique.

So, in a hundred years…

Would he end up like those men?

Xu Boqing pondered this question all the way back, and even upon returning to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, he still had no answer.

With a helpless sigh, he made his way to the Empress Dowager’s chambers…