The Weird Sound of a Temple Block

By the time Governor Shuo got to the hall, Shen Lian was already seated.

Shen Lian held his teacup up and carefully tasted its content, white steam rising from it.

Governor Shuo was an educated man, a phrase came to him – volatilizing jade.

He had got through the Imperial Examination. It goes without saying that he had seen his fair share of talented men and descendants of reputable families.

There were definitely men who were better looking than Shen Lian, but none of them looked as smart as him.

There were youths who were more mature than Shen Lian was, but they were not as carefree and more often than not, appeared as trying too hard.

Governor Shuo found it normal to judge a book by its cover, and the first impression was especially important. Even if Shen Lian was not from the Shen family, the Governor Shuo would still want to make his acquaintance.

Shen Lian saw Governor Shuo, then gently put down his cup and smiled politely at the Governor.

Governor Shuo felt as though he was like the ancient people meeting up with a friend, and sat down graciously.

"Young man, what are you doing here at my town hall?" said Governor Shuo.

"I have come to your rescue." Shen Lian said softly; his voice was low, but his words were clear and carefully enunciated.

Governor Shuo was displeased to hear that. Due to the excellent first impression he had of Shen Lian and his family background, Governor Shuo did not react unpleasantly.

The steward who was waiting outside of the door heard a loud roar and wondered what happened, unsure if he should go in.

Moments of silence followed, which left the steward incredibly confused. In the end, a very pleased and joyous Governor Shuo escorted Shen Lian out from the hall. The Governor passed him a memo and ordered him to bring Shen Lian to the secret prison.

The steward noticed that something on Governor Shuo smelled charred, and he saw some ashes on the Governor's fat fair hand.

******

The prison in the State Capital of Qing was dirty and foul-smelling, even the wardens would not want to spend an extra minute there.

However, Shen Lian who was trailing behind the prison warden looked at ease and did not seem bothered at all.

After passing through a long corridor, they finally arrived at the deepest corner of the prison.

It was an iron cell made for the most heinous and dangerous criminals.

There were twelve locks on the iron gate, known collectively as the Gold Portico and Jade Lock.

Even the best of thieves would take at least fifteen minutes to open the locks.

The iron gate swung open slowly. Surprisingly, there was no foul smell from the inside. However, it was incredibly stuffy.

This was Shen Lian's second encounter with the man in green.

The circumstance of their last encounter was still fresh in his mind; he still remembered how arrogant and proud the man in green was.

There were two iron chains hooking onto his clavicle, and his limbs were cuffed to the corner of the cell.

The prison warden lighted up the oil lamp. Under the dim lighting, Shen Lian could see that the man in green had an untrimmed mustache and facial hair all over his face, and his hair was a tangled mess.

Shen Lian tried taking a step forward but was stopped by the prison warden. "Young man, don't go any closer. Fix to six groups of people have visited this month, and all of them had to be carried out of the cell," the prison warden advised.

Shen Lian took a better look at the cell. The reason why it did not smell rotten was because of its sheer size. It was wide and spacious. If anything, it was more like a hall than a prison cell.

"After having his clavicles pierced with the purest of iron, he is still capable of hurting someone?" Shen Lian asked.

He knew the answer but did not want others to suspect that he was privy to the knowledge.

"This man is capable of sorcery. When someone approaches him, he would notice and would put them down. I wondered how he was captured in the first place," the prison warden nodded and replied.

To be honest, the prison warden was in fear. Ever since the man was caught, there had been many instances of break-ins by countless Jianghu drifters. All of them died in the prison. At the end of the day, the prison wardens were the ones who had to clear out the bodies.

Fortunately, the man in green would never strike first. So long as one remained thirty to fifty feet away, one would still be safe.

The Shen family wanted the man in green to be executed, but no one could go near him ever since he woke up.

Surprisingly, the man in green survives even without food or drink for the past month.

According to a senior prison warden, highly skilled Jianghu drifters such as the man in green had special training. They would survive even after being deprived of food and water for a prolonged period of time. They could reserve their energy, akin to the hibernation like the bears and snakes.

However, people like them were a lot more powerful than bears and snakes. They could still hurt people after being deprived of food and water for a month.

Moreover, the State Governor had received a secret order from higher-ups that the man would be brought to the Capital City. Therefore, nothing much had been done in relation to this man. Everyone was just waiting for the messengers from the Capital City to transport him away.

If it was not for the Governor's memo presented by Shen Lian, the prison warden would not even be here. 

The man in green opened his eyes. Shining like the stars in a dark night, they were demanding and pressuring.

Shen Lian's heart skipped a beat, this man seemed to have gotten more powerful since their last encounter.

This was a unique feeling Shen Lian got from his psyche, and it was hard to verify.

The prison warden who was standing next to Shen Lian collapsed after the man in green gave him a dagger-like glare.

In the modern world where Shen Lian was originally from, there was a skill called "Killing Eyes". Shen Lian came across this term from a novel, and he finally witnessed first-hand what "Killing Eyes" truly was.

He believed that he was capable of that too, but there was something that he needed first.

It was as though having unimaginable wealth but not knowing how to utilize it.

The wealth and riches needed to be utilized to their full potential.

The prison warden thought that this was a safe distance. However, the man in green had improved. In the past, his "Deity Vanquishing Sword" may not be able to reach such a great distance, but this was not the case anymore.

There was another possibility - the man in green had a secret trick up his sleeve.

Anyhow, only the two of them were left in the cell.

"Who are you really?"

"My name is Shen Lian. My grandfather was the reason why you were taken into custody this time."

"The Shen family of the State of Qing?" The man in green replied in a raspy voice, it seemed that he was parched, and there was no moisture left in his mouth and tongue.

"So you have heard of us before."

"My path has never crossed with the Shen family, and the Shen family does not have many ties with Jianghu."

"Do you still remember how you have killed two young men a month ago? They were my grandfather's grandchildren, they were my older cousins too."

"So this is the reason. I finally understand." The man in green exclaimed as if he had finally gotten the answer to a question that had bothered him for a very long time.

"You seem to not have much hatred against me." Shen Lian was curious too, he was after all a part of the Shen family, but the man in green was strangely not angered by his presence.

"People have come to kill me, and I kill in return. What is there to hate? I have only ever hated one person, only he alone is worthy of my hatred. The rest are not worthy to be on my mind." The man in green said nonchalantly.

"There is a reason why he is so strong." Shen Lian thought.

"Do you want to know why I have come?"

"I can pass the Deity Vanquishing Sword on to you. Even if you had not come, I was planning to look for you these days."

"Why?"

This time, it was Shen Lian's turn to question. Having gone through all these troubles, he did not expect the man in green to search for him and to teach him about the Deity Vanquishing Sword voluntarily.

Essentially, the man in green was suggesting that he could break out of the prison, without being bothered by the iron chains on his clavicles.

Shen Lian realized how little he knew about these so-called Jianghu drifters. This was not a Wuxia novel; this was a curious world that was filled with mysterious martial powers and Mystical Arts.

The knowledge that he obtained from Wuxia novels and Xianxia novels in the past was not of much help.

Out of nowhere, Shen Lian heard the weird sound of a temple block. It was silky and melodious, but Shen Lian had no idea where it came from.