The ice streams that had accumulated in the inner prison over the years had surpassed Chen Ji's imagination... He hadn't expected there to be so many ice streams in the inner prison!
He walked through the corridors of the inner prison, watching as streams of ice flowed into his body, while the four stove fires that sealed his Dantian wobbled unstably.
The gray-white ice streams, like flood dragons, emitted roars in the dim inner prison that others could not hear; they were like wronged souls trapped in cages for too long, resentful and eager to devour Chen Ji completely.
They were power, in this mysterious world, capable of overpowering authority and strength, but now they were being stripped away little by little.
Chen Ji could feel the cold emanating from his organs, but he dared not show any abnormality beside Yun Yang.
However, as they passed a prison cell, he noticed an Eight Diagram Array engraved on the base of an oil lamp on the wall.
Chen Ji suddenly remembered the Eight Diagram Arrays beneath each oil residue lamp on the stairs earlier... Each lamp represented a cell, the light didn't extinguish, nor did the people perish!
He swiftly took the oil lamp down and held it in the palm of his hand!
In an instant, the ice streams within his Dantian slowly receded like the tide.
Chen Ji breathed lightly, and Yun Yang turned around in surprise, "What are you doing with that lamp?"
He responded, "This inner prison is too dim, I'm not accustomed to it."
Yun Yang sneered, "But to think, a man who dares to bargain with me, is actually afraid of the dark?"
Chen Ji didn't reply; he was pondering a question: Could it be that after people die, the ice streams do not dissipate? Considering the quantity of the ice streams just now, they definitely had been accumulating for a long time.
Even if the Spy Department was ruthless, it wouldn't have killed so many people in such a short period.
It's the effect of the Eight Diagram Array!
It's the Prime Minister, worried about being haunted by the wronged souls from killing too many people, who sought someone to use the Eight Diagram Array to confine these souls in the inner prison, and thus over the years so many ice streams had accumulated.
Chen Ji steadied his breathing, "Lord Yunyang, bring me the records to check. To find clues, we may not need to look at current cases; perhaps there are many secrets hidden in past cases."
Yun Yang gestured to the spies, "Give them to him!"
When the spies brought the records over, they shockingly filled over a dozen large wooden boxes.
Chen Ji randomly took one, flipping through it while touring the inner prison.
Yun Yang sat at a table drinking tea as he waited, and the spies followed Chen Ji.
Chen Ji stopped in front of a prison door and asked, "Cell number 27 with the letter 'A', was the Prefect from Henan Province, Liu Yaozu, previously imprisoned here? Where is he now?"
The spy hesitated, not sure how to address this masked youth, and after a moment, said in a low voice, "Sir, the records say he was released, meaning he walked out of the inner prison alive. If nothing is written, it means he died inside."
Chen Ji confirmed that Liu Yaozu had indeed died in the inner prison four years ago.
He continued to another prison door, "Did cell number 28 with the letter 'A' hold the supervisor Chen Mingzhuo from the Craftsmanship Supervisor of Luocheng City?"
"He's dead too."
Afterward, Chen Ji stopped asking, only silently muttering in his mind:
"Cell number 52 with the letter 'A', the Magistrate from Gui-de Prefecture, Xu Jiawen, dead."
"Cell number 1 with the letter 'B', the County Magistrate from Shangcai County of Ru Ning Prefecture, Tian Halong, dead; Shangcai County Chief, Xu Dehong, dead…"
He reviewed the past, some cells saw one death, others several.
The more Chen Ji investigated, the more he was shocked; the records he held were like the Book of Life and Death from Yama Palace.
He flipped through the records again, noting that the inner prison had also once held people from Jianghu, civil servants hidden among the common folks, but the cells they were in had never had ice streams emerge.
He took a deep breath, finally grasping the pattern of the ice streams.
Those who could produce ice streams after death had one thing in common: they were civil servants!
...
...
Buried underground, the inner prison was like a massive graveyard, the exact number of people who died in this sunless place unknown.
This place wasn't about Jianghu; it was a burial site for both Jianghu and the court.
Chen Ji stood in front of a prison cell, holding the open records in his hand, facing the dim cells.
It took him about two hours to finally go through all the records from cells labeled 'A' and 'B', and he didn't need to look further at the other records marked 'C' through 'G'.
Chen Ji even boldly speculated that the ice streams obtained that night at Late Star Garden truly originated from Princess Consort Jing's fetus, as the offspring of the Royal Family were naturally superior.
Standing in this oppressive inner prison, Chen Ji felt somewhat absurd.
His path of cultivation was clearly set against the entirety of the Ning Dynasty; to practice, officials and the Royal Family bloodline must die!
From the Emperor to the lowliest civil servant, they wielded all the power in the dynasty.
And he, was he to be their enemy?
Yun Yang was right, one must not let others know what one's path of cultivation is indeed… It was too dangerous.
Yun Yang sat by a table, legs crossed, cracking sunflower seeds. Seeing Chen Ji stop in the corridor to think, he asked, "Did you find any clues?"
Chen Ji snapped out of his deep thoughts, "Not yet."
Yun Yang furrowed his brow, "I personally came to pick you up, wasting two hours going back and forth. Now, I've waited another two hours, and you're telling me you found no clues?"
Chen Ji had come for Ice Flow and the files, both of which he had obtained, but he couldn't just leave yet.
After a moment of thought, he asked, "How did Liu Shenyu die, did you kill him?"
Yun Yang shook his head, "No, he couldn't withstand the interrogation and hanged himself."
Chen Ji frowned, "Is his body still in the inner prison?"
"Still there, want to have a look?" Yun Yang, suddenly intrigued, tossed the sunflower seeds on the table, "Let me take you there."
Yun Yang led Chen Ji deep into the inner prison, descending several sets of stairs and passing through many levels before reaching the deepest part, where Chen Ji could already hear the sound of a subterranean river flowing.
"This way, inside there's only the body of Liu Shenyu," Yun Yang said, holding a torch and walking inside.
Liu Shenyu was about thirty, thin, with pale skin, a deathly white face, his tongue protruding, and having lost control of his bladder and bowels.
These were typical signs of death by hanging, nothing unusual.
Upon seeing the body, Chen Ji held his breath, feeling discomfort.
Yun Yang taunted, "I thought you were truly capable of anything, can't even look at a dead body?"
Chen Ji composed himself, "Lord Yun Yang, being indifferent while examining a fellow human's body is not something to boast about... Liu Shenyu didn't commit suicide; he was silenced through murder."
Yun Yang shook his head, "You're wrong this time. I have killed many, so I have more experience in this matter. All signs of his death point to hanging. I've helped many people hang themselves; their faces turn deathly pale, tongues protrude, and they lose control over their bladder and bowels, this cannot be mistaken. You might think, was he strangled before being hanged? No, those who are strangled turn a dark purple, which I am also familiar with."
"Theoretically, what Lord Yun Yang said isn't wrong," Chen Ji nodded.
"Hmm?" Yun Yang puzzled.
Chen Ji continued, "But all these can be faked."
Hanging kills by blocking the carotid artery, causing the brain to suffocate from the lack of oxygen.
Since the carotid artery is abruptly blocked, the veins can still function temporarily; hence, those who die from hanging turn pale, while those strangled turn purple.
The person who silenced Liu Shenyu must have understood the principle and thus fabricated the appearance of a hanging death: the tongue can be pulled out, acupuncture can cause loss of bowel control, and precisely strangling the sinuses can turn the face pale.
The adversary was a professional forger of suicides, but overlooked one detail, the feet.
Chen Ji explained, "In a hanging, the toes are pointed downward, nearly vertical to the ground. Rigor mortis sets in after four hours, and even if the person is taken down, the pose remains. But look at Liu Shenyu, his legs showed signs of struggle before he was strangled, with both feet fixed in different directions."
Upon hearing this, Yun Yang appeared contemplative, "Is that so… Let's go back to the 'A' level, bring a prisoner to test it and find out!"
Chen Ji and others returned to the upper level, and he watched as two spies dragged a prisoner along.
The prisoner had already wet his pants before being hanged.
Yun Yang sat by the table, cracking sunflower seeds and mocking, "This is a civil servant of the Ning Dynasty, seemingly upright and unyielding, but in reality, he crumbles easily."
Chen Ji hesitated, "Lord Yun Yang, what crime has he committed?"
"Treason, he forged household registrations and route passes for Jing Dynasty spies secretly," Yun Yang turned to the spies, "Hang him from the ceiling, I want to observe!"
Chen Ji wanted to say something, but ultimately chose to remain silent.
The next moment, the spies looped a rope around the prisoner's neck, hanged him from the ceiling, and kicked the stool from under his feet.
In just a few seconds, the prisoner stopped moving altogether.
Everyone waited, with the body hanging in front of them, Yun Yang casually drank tea and cracked seeds as if the object hanging wasn't a person but a pig.
Chen Ji focused only on flipping through the files to pass the time.
Four hours later, the spies took down the body from the ceiling, and just as Chen Ji had said, the toes were pointed stiff.
Yun Yang clapped his hands in admiration, "I've only ever hung people up, never brought them down again; I never noticed this detail!"
Chen Ji calmly responded, "If someone wanted this man dead to silence him, it means there's a bigger fish behind Liu Shenyu. Both branches of the Liu Family, Liu Mingxian, and Liu Mingde, are suspects."
Yun Yang frowned, "Liu Gun will be back in Luocheng City in a few days. Without evidence, confronting the Minister of Personnel isn't wise, is it? You're not trying to trick me into jumping into the fire, are you?"
Inside the room, Chen Ji held an oil residue lamp, its light flickering relentlessly in his eyes, "How could I? I am still hoping for a promotion from you, Lord Yun Yang. Earlier, you mentioned the harm Jing Dynasty spies could cause to frontline soldiers. Why protect yourself now?"
Yun Yang sighed, "Always good to learn from one's mistakes. I used to only know how to kill. I've barely held the position of the Twelve Signs for half a year; what a pity if I lost it… Politics are tough."
Chen Ji looked at him earnestly, asking, "Lord Yun Yang, both you and Jiao Tu are skilled at killing, and the Prime Minister is extremely wise. Why would he delegate you a task you aren't good at?"
Yun Yang puzzled, "Exactly… Maybe the Prime Minister intends for us to use our killing instincts to wipe out the Liu Family? He sent us here to kill, but how should I proceed…"
He subconsciously picked up the teapot to pour Chen Ji a cup, then thought better of it, realizing that before now, he had only ever poured tea for the Prime Minister.
He put the teapot back on the table, "But even now, knowing someone silenced Liu Shenyu, it's still hard to catch the Liu Family red-handed. How should I proceed with the investigation?"
Chen Ji shook his head, "The clues are too scarce right now, I don't have good advice. But, Lord Yun Yang, don't you find Old Master Liu's death too suspicious? After his death, you immediately fell into a passive position. My master was invited to diagnose him, but the carriage he was in broke down halfway, and he never saw Old Master Liu."
A bolt of realization struck Yun Yang, "It's very likely that Old Master Liu isn't dead!"