Upon reaching the Detention Center, Feng Shen stood before a towering walled compound, its high stone walls encircling the area like a fortress.
This place, meant to hold prisoners awaiting trial, was expansive, with guards patrolling the grounds, fully armored and armed with spears.
Despite being situated in the Crane's Nest, surrounded by civilian housing, the area was heavily fortified with a myriad of formations, each serving a distinct role in both defense and other crucial functions.
'This should be the place,' Feng Shen thought, eyeing around. It was heavily secured.
he strolled toward the heavy iron gates, which were reinforced with thick wooden beams.
The moment he stood before the gates, a voice seemed to materialize from thin air. "Please give me a moment while I verify your identity."
The guard in the control room, high above, had been expecting the Second Young Master of the Feng family's visit; he merely needed to follow protocol.
Feng Shen suddenly felt something sweep over him, like an invisible energy scanning his body, moving up and down in a strange, unsettling wave.
'Interesting, they are using identity formations in such a way...' he mused to himself.
Back in Feng Shen's day in his past life, things were far less "advanced" in a sense. While formations like these existed, they were never used for such diverse purposes.
"Alright, you may enter."
The guard, having completed his verification. Thoroughly checking every detail, even double-checking for any signs, began opening the gates.
He had double-checked for any signs of body stealing, doppelgangers, or other deceptions before finally confirming that everything was in order.
Feng Shen watched as the heavy iron gates creaked open, revealing the courtyard beyond. He stepped inside, hands clasped behind his back.
'Oh~ this is such a beautiful scener.'
Prisoners, shackled from hands to feet, trudged in single-file lines back to their cells, some collapsing lifelessly to the ground, victims of disease or many other afflictions.
The guards ignored the fallen, patrolling alongside the living, their whips cracking harshly against the prisoners' backs.
The sharp sounds resounding through the air.
"Hurry up! We don't have all day for you scum!"
"Useless! Walk faster!"
"All of you are trash!"
The guards barked their insults, their voices laced with disgust as they drove the prisoners forward.
Such a sight brought a smile to Feng Shen's face as he continued walking forward, savoring the cries of the prisoners.
As he approached the entrance leading inside, a middle-aged man stepped forward, draped in a flowing, dark blue silk robe that swept the ground with each movement.
"It is my pleasure to greet you, Second Young Master," Ping Zichen said, bowing his head slightly. His dark blue eyes glimmered with respect, framed by short, dark blue hair.
Like most people in this city, he had seen the recording. As a warrior in his youth, he had always admired such displays of strength.
"No, no, no! It's my pleasure that an overseer like yourself is greeting me!" Feng Shen replied, strolling past him. "Now, please show me where my personal servant is."
"At once!" Said Ping Zichen, quickening his pace to walk alongside the Second Young Master. "Don't worry; we've placed her in a safe and secluded part of the Detention Center."
Feng Shen sighed in relief. "Oh, thank the Heavens. If she had been hurt at all, I would have been deeply saddened." He truly woulda been.
After all, he wanted to inflict the pain himself; he didn't want anyone else to be responsible for it.
Otherwise, Feng Shen would be tempted to burn everything in here to the ground.
"I would never allow such a thing to occur. You will not see a scratch on her body! I promise you that!" Ping Zichen assured.
He knew better than to allow wealthy/important individuals to be harmed in his Detention Center. Their status could attract unwanted attention and complications he couldn't afford.
"Good, because if I see a single scratch, I will not be pleased," Feng Shen muttered, his voice sharp and cold.
With that said, they both fell silent.
They continued down the hall, passing guards who stood off to the side, bowing their heads in respect as they walked by.
Ping Zichen, as the overseer, wasn't stopped once and didn't have to go through any security checkpoints.
The same was for Feng Shen, who accompanied him.
After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at a private cell area, typically reserved for the wealthy/important, where the conditions were significantly better.
It wasn't dark; instead, the area was brightly lit. No guards were present.
"She's over there, Second Young Master, in Cell 11," Ping Zichen said, taking his keys out as he walked ahead. He stopped in front of the cell that held the woman.
Xiǎo Bao, was sleeping soundly on the bed, looking as if she were in heaven, having not experienced such restful sleep in years.
Feng Shen stood behind the overseer, licking his lips as he eyed her, unable to contain his anticipation for the torture to come, already imagining the scenes unfolding in his mind.
In these vivid bubbles of imagination, he envisioned her typically expressionless face twisted in despair as she slowly and painfully succumbed to her death.
Ping Zichen unlocked the cell and opened it, stepping to the side and motioning for the Second Young Master to enter. "Please, by all means, go in."
"You are dismissed," spoke Feng Shen, looking at the overseer with a small smile. "I would like some alone time with my personal servant."
"Of course," Ping Zichen said without questioning anything as he began to walk away. "Just call for me when you need me."
He truly didn't want to offend the young man in front of him; in fact, as he saw him as a hero, he felt he could trust him completely.
As the overseer left, Feng Shen began to cough, a hint of blood escaping his lips. A small, sharp bamboo needle emerged, glistening with blood, which he held in his hand.
"Now, let the fun begin~." He stepped into the cell, his gaze fixed on his personal servant.
Xiǎo Bāo was snoring softly, lost in pleasant dreams of moments with the First Young Master, occasionally murmuring his name in a quiet, dreamy tone:
"First… Young… Master…"
Silence.
"You're here… I can feel you…"
Silence.
"Take me to the garden… it's so beautiful… just like you…"
Silence.
"I wish we could stay like this… forever…"
Silence.
"You always make me laugh, you know? The way you tease me…"
Silence.
"I love you, Feng Wuhao…"