Chapter 11: Entry Fusion
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“Yes, Master!”
Seeing Ye Liuyun resting with his eyes closed, Xing’er answered softly before leaving on tiptoe, careful not to disturb him.
Yet after closing the door behind him, Xing’er did not leave at once.
Instead, she raised her hand and looked at it.
Xing’er was not an ordinary maid. Most heavy and exhausting work did not need to be done by her, so her delicate hands had been kept in fairly good condition.
But this was a different age. In these times, even concubines could be sold or given away at will, let alone maids.
Perhaps words of concern meant little to Ye Liuyun, but to Xing’er, they had stirred a feeling she had never experienced before.
She stood silently for quite some time before finally leaving. Compared with before, however, there was now a smile on her face.
…
The following day, the imagined trouble from the Marquis of Wan Shun never came.
Whether he was plotting something major or not, Ye Liuyun was unaffected either way. After spending so many days settling in, he finally decided to visit the Zhao Prison.
The Zhao Prison was located in the rear courtyard, in a fairly concealed position. Numerous Brocade Guards stood watch along the way, but fortunately, Ye Liuyun’s rank as a Banner Commander served as the perfect pass.
“Commander Ye? What brings you to my Zhao Prison today?”
The person in charge of the Zhao Prison was also a Banner Commander.
His name was Xiao Yongning, and virtually everything inside the Zhao Prison was under his supervision.
Ye Liuyun had seen Xiao Yongning’s name in the register Ye Liufeng had left behind. Ye Liufeng’s assessment of him consisted of only two words: greedy for money.
The instant he saw Ye Liuyun, Xiao Yongning was visibly taken aback.
The Zhao Prison was dark and damp, and few people usually came here.
“I came to broaden my horizons.”
Ye Liuyun smiled naturally. As he spoke, he casually took out a silver note.
“I thought I might learn a little more. I’ve heard that the Zhao Prison has countless methods of interrogation, so I wanted to come and observe them for myself.”
When Xiao Yongning saw the silver note Ye Liuyun held out, the false smile on his face immediately became much more genuine.
He accepted it without the slightest change in expression.
“Haha! Brother Ye, with such a commendable desire to learn, how could I, as your elder brother, possibly stop you? Come, come—I’ll personally show you around!”
It did not matter what their relationship had been before. As long as one was willing to spend money, they were brothers.
Ye Liufeng’s notes in the register were remarkably accurate.
When they called Xiao Yongning greedy for money, they truly meant greedy for money.
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…
Not a ray of sunlight reached the Zhao Prison. In its dark, damp corridors, the screams and cries of prisoners rang out from time to time.
The sound alone was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
No wonder people had always said that anyone who could remain in the Zhao Prison for long was either exceptionally strong-willed or psychologically deranged. In any case, none of them were normal.
“Basically, no one who enters the Zhao Prison ever gets out alive. Our purpose here is simply to make their departure a little more painful.”
Those whose crimes did not warrant death would never be imprisoned in the Zhao Prison.
Anyone who entered had no chance of surviving.
First, they would be subjected to every form of punishment. If they did not die, they would be locked away for a day, after which the process would begin again. It would end only when they finally died.
Xiao Yongning spoke with complete indifference, as though, in his eyes, the lives of these prisoners no longer counted as lives at all.
“…”
Ye Liuyun did not reply. He merely looked around.
Some prisoners were currently being tortured, while others were locked inside cells, their bodies covered in scars left by previous punishments.
Seeing that Ye Liuyun had become absorbed in what he was watching, Xiao Yongning observed him for a while before losing interest.
“How about this, Brother Ye? Stay and look around as long as you like. If you have any questions, feel free to come find me.”
“If you have matters to attend to, Brother Xiao, please go ahead. I’ll be fine here.”
Seeing that Xiao Yongning intended to leave, Ye Liuyun naturally did not stop him.
This would give him time to properly examine the prisoners’ talent traits.
After Xiao Yongning departed, Ye Liuyun began studying the prisoners in earnest.
Most of them possessed one or more talent traits. Of course, none of those traits were especially powerful. Anyone with truly outstanding abilities would never have been captured by the Brocade Guards in the first place.
As he passed one of the cells, he saw a Brocade Guard lashing a bound prisoner with a whip.
When the guard noticed Ye Liuyun approaching, it was obvious that Xiao Yongning had already spoken to him. He merely nodded at Ye Liuyun in greeting before continuing to swing the whip.
The screams rang out without end.
Seeing it was indeed different from merely hearing about it. Even though Ye Liuyun had prepared himself mentally before coming, witnessing it with his own eyes still left him feeling unsettled.
If his identity were exposed, perhaps he would be the one being tortured now.
Become stronger!
He had to become stronger. Only by possessing sufficient strength could he truly fear nothing.
“Huff…”
He still had not completely adapted to this place. After slowly regulating his breathing, Ye Liuyun pulled himself together once more.
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At that moment, after letting out one final scream, the prisoner being flogged finally collapsed completely.
The guard in charge of the punishment splashed water over him. When he realized that the man was truly dead, he paid it no further mind and prepared to move on to someone else.
Ye Liuyun’s attention, however, was fixed on the several tiny points of light drifting from the corpse.
“Detecting obtainable talents: Superhuman Strength (Green), Thievery (White).”
“Superhuman Strength (Green): Possesses strength far beyond that of an ordinary person.”
“Thievery (White): Exceptionally skilled at stealing.”
The white-quality Thievery trait was not worth bothering with, but Ye Liuyun naturally took the Superhuman Strength trait without a second thought.
Since he had seen it, he absolutely could not let it slip away.
However—
“Detected a high degree of overlap between the Superhuman Strength trait and the Robust Physique trait. Fuse them?”
Ye Liuyun had not expected similar traits to be capable of fusion.
The discovery both surprised and delighted him.
“Fuse!”
Without hesitation, he chose to proceed.
“Talent Trait System!
Host: Ye Liuyun!
Realm: Second-Rate Martial Artist!
Martial Art: Wind-Splitting Saber Technique!
Talent Traits: Fortune (Purple), Powerful Physique (Blue), Saber Talent (Blue).”
“Powerful Physique (Blue): Your physique far surpasses that of ordinary people, granting you extraordinary strength.”
After the fusion, the Robust Physique trait on his original status panel became Powerful Physique. At the same time, the trait’s former green quality rose to blue.
Sure enough, coming to a place like the Zhao Prison had been the right decision.
Ye Liuyun clenched his fists.
It was only a single increase in quality, yet he could already feel that his strength had risen several levels compared with before.
…
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