On the streets

The ox-cart moved along the streets hastily. The prison was situated at the western end of the city, and was surrounded by solid concrete walls. There were viewing posts in all four directions of the prison, with a guard standing and ensuring that nobody could escape. From the viewing post, he had a bird’s eye view of the entire prison.

The ox-cart came to a halt directly outside the prison, and a constable exited the vehicle and walked into the prison.

The prison was extremely dark, its foundation were made of stone. In the middle of the prison was a single passageway. There were cells on both sides of the passageway, which were neither big nor small. Each cell was divided by a wooden partition.

Once a person enters the prison, he could immediately smell a foul stench. In every cell there was a pail, which acted as a latrine for the prisoners. Pungent smells of urine and fecal matter were emitted from these pails.

Ji Dan was extremely bothered by this foul smell within the prison walls. Although he had been a constable for such a long time, he still couldn’t get used to this smell. He thus walked straight down the passage. A bailiff saw him walking down th