Chapter 15: The Dungeon Rescue
Chapter 15: The Dungeon Prison Break
In the narrow, dim dungeon corridor, after walking for a while, Qin Yuan was surprised to realize that he no longer felt as repulsed by the dungeon as he did when he first arrived in this world.
Time truly is the most terrifying force in any realm.
After some time, Qin Yuan reached the deepest cell.
Inside, the Yellow Lotus Sect Leader leaned against the wall, her tattered prison robes stained with blood and her unkempt hair partially obscuring her otherwise unremarkable face.
Back when Qin Yuan was in the south, rumors had spread that the Yellow Lotus Sect Leader was a peerless beauty.
Peerless beauties were rare, and grand masters even rarer.
To be both—well, that was quite something.
After introducing himself, Qin Yuan followed protocol and asked, “Sect Leader, why did you rebel?”
The Yellow Lotus Sect Leader offered no reply.
She didn’t even glance at him.
“Because of poverty, because we refused to be starving corpses, because the lackeys relied too heavily on the Western Sect’s oppression, because the court was biased,” Qin Yuan answered calmly.
The Yellow Lotus Sect Leader raised her head and sneered coldly, “You already know but still ask?”
Qin Yuan posed several more questions, but she remained silent.
After a pause, Qin Yuan asked, “If you escaped, why come back?”
To be honest, Qin Yuan felt somewhat frustrated.
He had risked himself to save her, only for her to turn around and deliver him into danger again.
The Yellow Lotus Sect Leader slightly lifted her head, her eyes piercing through strands of hair as she fixed her gaze on Qin Yuan, speaking each word deliberately: “We possess something that you do not.”
At least she was willing to speak.
“Second question: what is the pursuit of the Yellow Lotus Sect?”
Seeing no response, Qin Yuan added, “Sect Leader, surely you don’t want the history books to record the Yellow Lotus Sect as merely a violent group without any meaningful ambition.”
The Yellow Lotus Sect Leader pondered seriously for a while, then raised her chin with determination and declared, “There will be no more poor people in this world.”
An absurd yet beautiful aspiration.
Qin Yuan asked, “Do you know what the greatest wealth of the rich is?”
She remained silent.
Having never even attended proper private schooling, she likely didn’t grasp such abstract concepts.
Qin Yuan answered his own question: “The poor.”
The Yellow Lotus Sect Leader stared at him, surprised. After a moment, she laughed bitterly.
The poor are the greatest wealth of the rich; in this world, there will never be no poor.
Even if it happens by chance, it’s only temporary.
In other words, the Yellow Lotus Sect’s pursuit is nothing but a fool’s dream.
“Actually, the poor are not without means of resistance,” Qin Yuan said, looking at her. “Scarcity makes things valuable.”
The Yellow Lotus Sect Leader showed a thoughtful expression.
Having attained such high martial skill at a young age, her mind was naturally quick.
Soon, realization dawned on her face.
“Once you understand, there’s no need to say more,” Qin Yuan interrupted.
She snorted lightly.
Qin Yuan asked a few more questions, but she gave no reply.
With a decisive motion, Qin Yuan stood and headed out of the cell.
“Thank you for answering my questions,” the Yellow Lotus Sect Leader’s hoarse voice came from behind.
Qin Yuan paused briefly, then strode onward, the darkness gradually swallowing the corridor behind him.
...
The night was hazy and mysterious, with few passersby.
Inside the Zhonghe Theater, the atmosphere was lively, as if it belonged to another world entirely.
On stage, a performance of the Water Margin play “The Great Prison Break of the Five Tigers of Liangshan” was underway, telling the story of Song Jiang dispatching Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, Liu Tang, Ruan Xiaowu, and others to break into prison and rescue the hero Han Bolong.
Qin Yuan listened with great interest, applauding occasionally.
Beside him, Miao Tong, the esteemed madam of the Pear Fragrance Courtyard, wore a look of quiet grievance.
She had been invited out but was only to enjoy the opera.
Originally, Qin Yuan had intended to call another woman but, forgetting her name, had invited Miao Tong instead, as she happened to be free.
“Is it really so easy to break out of prison?” Miao Tong asked softly.
Her voice was enchanting, like the gentle tinkling of a mountain spring.
“Of course not,” Qin Yuan shook his head.
Take the current dungeon, for example—even a grand master couldn’t easily take someone out.
After a while, the play ended, and the crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Many wealthy spectators threw silver ingots and valuable jewelry onto the stage.
“Yuanda, buy my freedom,” Miao Tong said softly.
She and Qin Yuan had only had limited contact.
But Qin Yuan was handsome, talented, and generous.
That alone made him desirable.
Just among those she knew, several women wanted to become his concubines.
“What?” Qin Yuan pretended not to hear.
He had no intention of abusing public resources for private gain.
“Yuanda, buy my freedom,” she repeated.
“Speak louder, I can’t hear you,” Qin Yuan called out without turning around.
Annoying—how was she supposed to be loud in such a place?
Mistaking Qin Yuan’s avoidance as flirtation, Miao Tong clutched her skirt shyly and lowered her head, then looked up to find Qin Yuan had vanished.
“Heartless scoundrel,” she cursed with sudden clarity.
Moments later, Miao Tong appeared beside another patron on the second floor, chatting and laughing as if nothing unpleasant had happened.
On stage, a new play began: “Du Shiniang’s Furious Sinking of the Treasure Chest.”
“Excellent.”
...
Cheers rose from the audience.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted in the dungeon.
The Right Army guards were relatively composed, but the ordinary jailers were all visibly anxious, despite being armed.
Not long ago, remnants of the Yellow Lotus Sect, aided by infiltrators using disguise techniques, had stormed the dungeon.
They unlocked every cell, freed prisoners, and hunted down the dungeon’s personnel.
Now, the entire dungeon was in turmoil.
“Sect Leader, your brothers have come to rescue you!”
“Sect Leader!”
A group rushed to the cell where the Yellow Lotus Sect Leader had been held.
But it was empty.
Someone triggered a trap, and a volley of hidden projectiles shot out.
Many were hit.
“Poisoned! We’ve fallen into a trap!”
“Fall back!”
The group fled hurriedly outside.
“Your sect leader is here!”
From a high vantage point, Yuting threw down a woman’s severed head.
The blood was still fresh, clearly killed not long before.
“Sect Leader!”
The crowd snarled with rage, eyes bloodshot, eager to tear Yuting—this murderous villain—to pieces.
“Revenge for the sect leader!”
“Kill the dog Yuting!”
They charged madly forward.
Facing the elite Right Army guards blocking their path, they resorted to a desperate, all-or-nothing fight.
“Let them come,” Yuting ordered.
This place was too cramped; formations and coordinated strikes were impossible.
The elite guards would only die in vain.
Not because Yuting cared for their lives, but because it would be a loss to him.
These men had been paid for with his silver.
In ordinary worlds, training in martial arts required much money; in the world of warriors, even more so.
As the elite guards made way, the Yellow Lotus fanatics charged at Yuting like madmen.
“If you cherish your sect leader so much, then come join her,” Yuting declared.
Transforming into a monstrous humanoid dinosaur, one after another, Yellow Lotus remnants fell beneath his terrifying strength.
A Yellow Lotus follower nearly at grand master level was slammed into a wall with a single punch, his face contorted in agony.
If word got out, it would shock many.
Yuting’s face briefly twisted in pain.
Not good.
The force worm inside his body was acting up again.
“Quick, the dog Yuting is having health problems!”
The remaining Yellow Lotus followers swarmed him again, crazed.
Yuting immediately switched to the Overlord Blade technique.
Gathering his energy at the dantian, he unleashed a magnificent slash.
The forty-meter wide blade energy instantly wiped out most of the Yellow Lotus remnants, also destroying much of the dungeon walls and buildings.
After the commotion, the dungeon suddenly fell silent.
Yuting casually sheathed his blade.
“Clean up the mess and withdraw to the governor’s mansion.”
“Yes, sir!”
The elite Right Army guards responded in unison.
Yuting moved to a secluded spot, leaning against the wall, his face paler by turns.
The Overlord Blade was powerful but exhausting.
He had used it twice in only a few days.
A sharp pain surged through him.
Damn it.
He hurriedly retrieved some dried meat from his pack and began gnawing on it.
Soon finished, an innocent dog happened to pass by.
Yuting pounced; the dog’s distressed cries ceased after a few moments.
Under the pale moonlight, it seemed as though a man-eating demon was ravenously feeding.
...
(End of chapter)