Chapter 546: Willing to Die for Him
Chapter 546: Chapter 546: Willing to Die for Him
The man reacted as if he’d heard a joke.
"I’ve been in here for many years. How would I know you?"
Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you help me?"
The man leaned against the wall, tilting his head back slightly.
"It’s rare to see a living person. I just wanted to chat a bit."
’A living person?’
That was right. This place was full of death-row inmates. They came and went, but in the end, didn’t they all end up dead?
"Thank you for your kindness, but I must go in. I’ll thank you properly when I come back out."
The man acted as if he’d heard another joke and let out a low chuckle, but a single laugh sent him into a violent coughing fit.
It took him a while to compose himself before he turned to look at Ye Chutang again.
"And you think you’ll be able to come back out?"
He looked Ye Chutang up and down, a look of understanding dawning on his face.
"You’re in such a hurry. The person in there must be very important to you."
Before Ye Chutang could reply, the man let out a soft, derisive snort.
"Silly little girl, so naive. You fall for a man and become willing to die for him."
Ye Chutang was speechless.
She said seriously, "Sir, you may have helped me, but I have to say, I have no intention of dying."
She had always cherished her life. Otherwise, what would those at home do?
The man’s gaze shifted slightly. "With just that sword in your hand? You have no Inner Strength. Going in there is a suicide mission."
Ye Chutang’s eyelashes fluttered.
’From the sound of it, Shen Yanchuan really is in danger in there!’
’There’s no time to lose!’
Ye Chutang weighed the sword in her hand and smiled faintly.
"Not exactly."
"This sword is just an ordinary weapon, but—I have my own methods."
The man closed his eyes again. He lifted his broken leg with both hands to shift its position, and fresh blood seeped from the wound.
Then, he felt around the base of the wall and pulled out a small shard. It looked like a piece of a broken bowl. He rolled up his pant leg, revealing flesh that had, indeed, begun to rot again.
He used the thin shard to scrape away the putrid flesh, one stroke after another. His movements were slow, yet deliberate and focused.
In the dim candlelight, the scene was utterly gruesome.
"If you want to go, then go."
He didn’t look up again, speaking casually.
Ye Chutang’s gaze swept over his leg. She gave a slight nod, thanked him again, and turned to leave.
Soon, silence returned.
Just like every day and every night for the past many years.
The man finally finished scraping all the rotten flesh from his leg, revealing the stark white of bone beneath.
He let out a long breath, wiped the shard clean as best he could with some stray weeds, and put it away again.
...
The path ahead grew darker.
Ye Chutang’s figure all but melted into the shadows.
Her movements were so light that she passed the remaining cells of death-row inmates without drawing any attention.
Upon reaching a certain point, she finally stopped and strained her ears to listen.
After a moment, she caught a sharp, faint sound!
—Someone was fighting!
’At this time, in this place, it couldn’t be anyone other than Shen Yanchuan!’
Ye Chutang held her breath, and the sound became clearer.
’One against many. No wonder that man said I’d be walking to my death—’
’No, that’s not right!’
Ye Chutang suddenly realized something. Shen Yanchuan had come in alone, but his opponents were numerous. If they had all entered together, they would have surely drawn attention.
But the prison guard from before hadn’t mentioned anyone else, only that he’d seen Shen Yanchuan.
’In other words, the people fighting Shen Yanchuan right now... didn’t enter the prison today!’
Ye Chutang’s mind raced.
Instead of continuing forward, she moved stealthily and hid herself around a corner.
From this position, the sounds of battle were much more distinct.
Ye Chutang pressed herself flat against the wall, using the shadow cast by a single candle in the corridor ahead and to her right to perfectly conceal her form.
Then, she took a flint and a small packet of powder from her purse.
Ye Chutang poured out the powder. It was a faint ocher color, and if one were to smell closely, they could detect a very light, bitter aroma.
The smell wasn’t pungent, however. It was so faint that it wouldn’t attract attention.
This was the Mist Spirit Powder she had developed herself.
’It works best when ingested, but I can’t get close to them right now, so I’ll have to settle for the next best thing.’
Ye Chutang turned slightly, her back to the weak candlelight. She blew gently on the flint, which sparked brightly and soon caught fire.
Next, she ignited the Mist Spirit Powder.
When exposed to the high temperature, the ocher powder instantly turned pitch-black, and a wisp of white smoke began to drift lazily into the air.
The faint, bitter smell instantly intensified, but a gentle draft was all it took to silently disperse it into the surroundings.
Ye Chutang covered her nose and mouth and waited motionlessly.
...
CLANG—SHINK!
Shen Yanchuan thrust his sword into the chest of the man before him!
Blood splattered, adding fresh crimson specks to the nearby wall.
The man, a mix of terror and shock, hastily tried to block with his dagger. But Shen Yanchuan’s strike was too powerful, and the sword still plunged steadily into his body, stopping barely half an inch from his heart!
Shen Yanchuan’s expression was glacial. With a flick of his wrist, the sword’s edge tore open the man’s chest, leaving a mangled mess of flesh and blood.
"Aargh!"
The man was thrown to the ground, finally letting out an agonized groan.
The others surrounding them turned pale at the sight.
They had been fighting for so long, yet Shen Yanchuan had hardly lost any ground.
They, on the other hand, already had three men wounded.
"So your illness really was just an act!" the man in the prison uniform sneered, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
They had put so much effort into planning today’s ambush; they couldn’t let it all be for nothing!
"Too bad for you. No matter what, you’re not leaving this place today!"
With that, the man suddenly took a step back. He pried at the side of a nearby cell door with his fingers, opening a crack just wide enough for him to pull out a Crossbow from behind it!
The Crossbow was forged from bronze and was exceptionally heavy, yet it looked effortless in the man’s hands.
The moment Shen Yanchuan saw the Crossbow, his eyes darkened.
That was—
"No need to waste any more time," the man sneered, drawing the string to load the bolt.
Shen Yanchuan was now trapped, with no hope of escape in any direction.
At such a close range, this Crossbow was powerful enough to shoot straight through him, killing him on the spot!
Shen Yanchuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he tightened his grip on his longsword.
Just as he was contemplating how to break through, a very faint, bitter scent drifted toward him.
Shen Yanchuan sensed something was wrong after a single breath and immediately held it!
His opponents, however, had all their attention focused on him and failed to notice it.
"Die!"
The man roared, about to pull the trigger.
But just then, his hand faltered for a moment. The bolt lost its aim, flying out with a WHOOSH. It grazed Shen Yanchuan’s sleeve before burying itself deep into the stone wall with a THUD!