Jiang Feng was taken aback.
That scent seemed like the smell of rouge and powder.
Could it be that Ge Huizhong went to Fengyue Building last night and ended up in a pile of women?
As he walked forward, Jiang Feng thought to himself, but didn't dwell on it—whatever that scent was, if the guy didn't want to talk to him, he wasn't about to force his company on someone who didn't care.
He kept walking toward Chaoyang Alley.
Jiang Feng didn't sense any danger.
When he got home—
Jiang Feng opened his panel.
Name: Jiang Feng
Fortune: 521
Cultivation Technique: Prison Guard Health Care Skill (Minor Achievement)
Skills: Prison Guard Long Fist (Proficient+), Divine Arrow (Proficient), Monkey Escape Technique (Mastery)
Realm: Sixth Grade (Refining Organs)
Divine Power: Immortality
"Up by over a hundred."
Jiang Feng was rather surprised.
This morning, before leaving Zhenbei Prison, his Fortune Point was barely over four hundred.
He'd been gaining just a little bit each day recently.
But he hadn't expected that after leaving prison this morning, his Fortune had shot up by over a hundred points.
Thinking back to the gaze he'd sensed three days ago, which had vanished by this morning—could it be that he'd narrowly dodged another threat without even knowing it?
"Three days ago—who the hell was watching me, anyway?"
Jiang Feng felt puzzled.
But no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't figure out who was watching him.
The next day.
Jiang Feng switched from night duty to day shift.
Inside Zhenbei Prison, he ran into Uncle Huo.
Uncle Huo was a squad leader, so he usually didn't have to do night shifts.
In the workroom, Uncle Huo was gnawing on a pickled radish. On the table in front of him, there were some peanuts and a small jug of liquor.
"Uncle Huo, something to celebrate in your family?"
Jiang Feng was surprised.
Their wages as prison guards weren't much—just enough to get by. Uncle Huo, as squad leader, earned a bit more, but had a whole family to feed. Last time he splurged just to have a pot of salted veggie tofu, and that was a big deal. To see him eating pickled radish and peanuts with a jug of liquor first thing in the morning—it had to be something good.
"What's there to celebrate? This wine and peanuts were a gift from Ge Huizhong. Come on, sit and eat with me—warm yourself up."
Uncle Huo said casually.
"Why'd he give you wine and peanuts for nothing?"
Jiang Feng got even more curious.
"He asked me to switch shifts with him—said he wanted to take night duty these next few days."
Uncle Huo tossed a peanut into his mouth.
"There are folks fighting over night shift now, huh!"
Jiang Feng said with meaning.
For prison guards, night duty meant fewer tasks and was relatively easier. But the cells were full of yin energy, bad for one's Qi Blood. If they could choose, most would rather work harder in the day than suffer night duty.
Ge Huizhong had always been quiet and reserved, so Jiang Feng didn't expect him to ask Uncle Huo for a night shift swap.
"Let him have it if he wants—it's no skin off my nose. Let's have some wine and stay warm."
Uncle Huo didn't think much of it.
Anyway, if someone brought him wine and peanuts, he wasn't about to say no.
But Jiang Feng felt something was off.
He thought back to yesterday after finishing the night shift. When he left Zhenbei Prison and passed Ge Huizhong at the gate, he'd smelled that powdery scent on him. Maybe the guy got into some trouble outside and was too scared to go home, so he asked Uncle Huo to cover his night shift.
Jiang Feng forced himself not to overthink it.
He focused on his job.
During meal time, he delivered food to the prisoners in cells one through thirty. When he was on night shift, Uncle Huo would assign someone else to handle the food delivery.
Now, he was on day shift.
He just needed to deliver the meals properly.
After serving two meals of rice porridge, Jiang Feng pushed his wooden cart back to the workroom. Passing by another squad leader's workroom, he suddenly saw Ge Huizhong inside.
It was only early evening.
It wasn't Ge Huizhong's shift.
What was the guy doing here? Did he move into the prison?
Jiang Feng was puzzled.
But didn't bother to ask.
Last time he'd greeted the guy at the door and gotten ignored, so this time Jiang Feng just pretended not to see him.
An hour later.
Dusk fell.
Jiang Feng and Uncle Huo finished their shift, left Zhenbei Prison together, walked a while, then split at a crossroads—Jiang Feng headed towards Chaoyang Alley, while Uncle Huo went to Willow Alley.
After walking a bit—
Jiang Feng suddenly remembered that Ge Huizhong also lived in Chaoyang Alley, midway down the lane.
He usually hurried past.
Too worried about running into any thieves or robbers at night.
This time, passing by Ge Huizhong's house, Jiang Feng glanced over and noticed that Ge Huizhong's window wasn't shut.
Great Tang.
Human hearts are dangerous.
Even in Dragon Capital, there were thieves everywhere.
Everyone in the slums knew to lock their doors and windows when going out.
Ge Huizhong, as a little prison guard at Zhenbei Prison, saw plenty of bad stuff day to day. How could he not know this basic rule?
Jiang Feng thought it odd.
But didn't do anything.
Maybe there'd been a theft in Ge Huizhong's house and he was hiding out in the prison because of it.
The next day.
Jiang Feng went to work at Zhenbei Prison as usual.
Passing by Ge Huizhong's house again—
He saw that the window in Ge Huizhong's room was still open.
Jiang Feng kept walking, but after a dozen steps, thinking back on all the oddities of these past few days, he checked that the coast was clear, then suddenly used Monkey Escape Technique, darting quickly into Ge Huizhong's courtyard.
He slipped straight into Ge Huizhong's room.
Glancing around—
Jiang Feng couldn't help but shudder all over.
In the corner of the room, near the door—lay a corpse with a dagger planted in its chest.
That corpse was no one else—it was Ge Huizhong.
The body had already turned black.
Jiang Feng could easily tell that Ge Huizhong had been dead for over twelve hours.
But yesterday, before leaving Zhenbei Prison, he'd very clearly seen Ge Huizhong in the cell block.
Could that "Ge Huizhong" in the prison have been a fake?
If so, why would someone impersonate Ge Huizhong and hide in the prison?
The more Jiang Feng thought about it, the weirder it seemed.
Not wanting to stir up any trouble, he didn't stick around—he left in a flash.
Back out on the alley, moving at his usual pace, he headed toward Zhenbei Prison.
At the gates of the prison, Jiang Feng met Uncle Huo. The two of them arrived almost at the same time, and just as they were about to go in, Ge Huizhong walked out from inside.
"Little Zhong..."
Just yesterday they'd shared a jug of wine. Uncle Huo greeted Ge Huizhong, but Ge Huizhong just ignored him, brushing past Jiang Feng and Uncle Huo in a rush.
But after only a few steps, Ge Huizhong frowned, glanced back at Jiang Feng—
But he seemed to have important business and left in a hurry.
Actually picked up his pace.
Uncle Huo pursed his lips, said nothing, and went inside the prison, clearly a bit miffed by Ge Huizhong's lack of manners.
Jiang Feng followed inside a moment later.
He decided to act as if he knew nothing—best not to get involved.
While working, he brushed past Chief Huang, who was escorting a Red Lotus Cultist to the torture chamber for interrogation.
On that Red Lotus Cultist—shackled in chains—Jiang Feng caught a whiff of a unique fragrance.
The same scent as the fake Ge Huizhong.
Faint, but unmistakable.
But Jiang Feng was certain—it was that exact scent.
In that instant, something clicked in Jiang Feng's mind, and his face changed dramatically.