Chapter Ninety-Five: The Black Tortoise Prison

"Wait, wait. Miss Fang, you said that the three great Divine Transformation elders were selecting personal disciples, and that the Foundation Establishment cultivators under the age of eighteen from each major sect were all summoned to Azure Cliff Sect. When was that supposed to have happened?"

Though Lu Yanchang had been locked away for many years, he relied on long-distance voice transmission and considered himself well informed. To his surprise, he had never heard of such a momentous affair. He interrupted Hongjian at once and pressed her with questions.

"When I first came in, it was nine years ago. By now, it has been about eleven years." In the darkness, time was hard to count, and Hongjian had to think for a moment before she could be certain.

"Then... little sister, you're only in your twenties this year? Good heavens, those damned old fossils are truly sinful. Such a young girl, and she's locked away here in this lightless place with the rest of us, waiting to die." Lu Yanchang's habit of pitying the fair sex flared up again, and he grew emotional at once, sighing and lamenting.

"Heh." Hongjian laughed softly and went on.

When she came to the part where Yao Zhen had failed to appear on the day she was to take a disciple, the listeners had already guessed what had happened. Old Master Jing said, "That young girl is finished. Someone must have thought she was in the way and quietly got rid of her."

But Lu Yanchang hit the mark in one stroke. "Old man, are you deaf? Miss Fang has clearly told you that this Yao Zhen's cultivation rose by leaps and bounds for no reason at all. How suspicious can it be? Huh? Heh heh. Did she secretly learn your Dark Heaven Sect's technique? Otherwise how would Miss Fang know that name?"

Old Master Jing immediately grew excited and cried, "Is that it? Was he right or not?"

Hongjian was somewhat alarmed by Lu Yanchang's words and could not help saying, "Something like that. With your cleverness, how could you still be deceived and end up imprisoned here?"

Such a frank compliment made Lu Yanchang overjoyed. "You think I'm clever too? Thank you, little sister. Haven't I just been locked up for too long, with nothing to do but spin wild theories in my head?"

Hongjian continued. She told them how, after taking a master and moving into Snow Pile Cliff, she had happened upon Yao Zhen's jewelry in Jian Hui's quarters, and how she later entered the sect's secret realm for training, only for her senior brother Jian Hui's attempt to harm her to backfire and bring about his own ruin.

Several of the major twists in that tale were extremely unexpected, but because Hongjian had just called him "clever," Lu Yanchang wanted to appear all-knowing and could not bring himself to exclaim in surprise or interrupt her. He only let out a soft "Oh?" and held his tongue.

It was not until Hongjian had finished that he said, "What Miss Fang says is naturally true. That Jian fellow was truly no good at all. Good riddance to him. In the end, this is all old man's sin."

Old Master Jing chuckled twice, then said, "Incomplete and inconsistent. You're only a mere Qi Refining cultivator, yet you drove your Foundation Establishment senior brother to death. There must be some falsehood in this. I don't believe it."

Hongjian ignored him and asked only Lu Yanchang, "Jian Hui died without a witness, and I have never understood why he would strike at Senior Sister Yao. Sometimes in my dreams, I still see Senior Sister Yao. Brother Lu, can you help me solve this mystery?"

Though Lu Yanchang was old enough to be Hongjian's senior, hearing her call him "Brother Lu" pleased him more than any other form of address.

Pleased though he was, he scratched his head and said after some thought, "I know too little about those two to make a proper guess. I really can't help you."

Hongjian was somewhat disappointed. At that moment, however, the man in the neighboring cell, who had been silent for a long while, spoke up. "If you want to know, ask your master when you get the chance to get out!"

"My master? How would he know?" Hongjian was astounded.

"If he doesn't know, then there's no need for you to think about it anymore. That female cultivator died at your Snow Pile Cliff. If no one truly noticed, then why would your senior brother have had to go into the sect's secret realm when it was your turn? The likeliest possibility is that he was taught a lesson the last time he acted, but because the dead cultivator was of little importance, he was spared punishment. Think for yourself: if there is such a person, who would it most likely be?"

Hongjian drew a deep breath. Her master had never been close to her, and they had even fallen out the last time in the Hall of Vast Glory. She truly felt no great reverence for Master Yan Changqing now; if she had the chance, she would certainly ask him. But would she still have such a chance?

Hongjian quickly gathered herself and did not linger in that fantasy. She thanked the man, then went on, "There is something else. Four years later, during the Azure Cloud Festival, Master Pan Cong, who had been at the late Foundation Establishment stage with a wood affinity, died in the sect's secret realm..."

Pan Cong's death was also an unsolved case in Hongjian's mind. She had chosen to believe her second senior brother Qin Baoxian, but since Qin Baoxian had been wronged, the true killer of Pan Cong must still be roaming free.

"...After that, I never saw my second senior brother Qin Baoxian again." As she said this, Hongjian suddenly froze. She felt as though she had grasped the key to the matter.

Pan Cong was well liked, and his death became the opening for Ji Youyun's infiltration of Azure Cliff Sect. Since even a Golden Core cultivator like Jing Li could defect to Dai Mingchi, it was no surprise if the sect had a few more Foundation Establishment scoundrels; it might even have been directly ordered by Jing Li through a trusted disciple.

Hongjian lost the urge to continue and quickly finished that part in a few brief sentences.

But Lu Yanchang and Old Master Jing had now turned their attention entirely to Ji Youyun's water-attribute perception technique. The two of them argued back and forth for a long while before at last falling silent. Then Lu Yanchang remembered Hongjian and asked, "Is that all?"

Hongjian said, "Mm. There was never much to begin with. Brother Lu, do you still believe everything I said is true?" Suddenly she had lost interest. She had originally intended to tell the others about the miserable fates of her grandmaster, her eldest senior brother, and the rest, but now she abandoned that thought and decided to brush it off.

Lu Yanchang laughed. "Of course. You're so young; I suspect you haven't yet learned how to lie to someone's face."

Hongjian's lips twitched as she listened. In order to kill Jing Li and avenge her eldest senior brother, she had once told a monstrous lie before everyone of the Talisman Diagram Sect, even deceiving Dai Mingchi.

But now she only said, "Then you've won. Say it—what do you want me to do?"

Lu Yanchang was in high spirits. "No rush. It'd be a pity to waste it. Let it be owed for now. I'll think carefully."

Hongjian smiled without concern. In this ghostly place, she did not think Lu Yanchang could come up with anything new.

But Lu Yanchang yawned and said, "We've talked enough to tire ourselves. The one in Cell Twelve, you there—hear me? I accept defeat and concede. I'm not talking now; I'm going to sleep."

There was no more sound from his side. Only Old Master Jing muttered a few more words, and when no one answered, he too quieted down. The prison returned once more to silence.

After a while, Hongjian suddenly heard a sound as light as a mosquito by her ear. "Miss Fang, can you hear me?" It was Lu Yanchang's voice.

Hongjian was slightly startled and gave a heavy cough.

Lu Yanchang spoke again. "So you can hear me. Good. At least I haven't forgotten this skill. Listen— the man in Cell Twelve is far too deep and scheming; I can't figure him out. As for your master's uncle, his character is too vile. When you speak with them, keep your guard up."

Hongjian did not reply. She was wondering what motive Lu Yanchang had for saying all this.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you. This internal technique of mine is called Secret Voice Transmission. It's much the same as sending words directly into someone's spiritual sense with power. Though it's more exhausting than long-distance voice transmission, only you can hear me. I'll teach you the formula for Secret Voice Transmission."

So Lu Yanchang went on to teach her a long incantation.

Hongjian memorized it with care. Fearing she might not have learned it clearly, Lu Yanchang repeated it twice.

Though both Secret Voice Transmission and Long-Distance Voice Transmission were techniques of the mortal martial arts, there was a great difference between them. Long-Distance Voice Transmission used internal force to send the voice far away, whereas Secret Voice Transmission compressed the sound into a thin line and sent it only to a single person's ear.

Hongjian believed that more learning never hurt; she would take any skill offered to her, and if someone was willing to teach, she would learn.

Like Long-Distance Voice Transmission, this technique did not take her long to master. After trying several times, she finally succeeded in sending her voice to Lu Yanchang's ear.

Lu Yanchang was delighted, and from then on he would come find Hongjian alone to chat.

At first Old Master Jing thought Lu Yanchang had lost his wager and been mocked into genuinely going to sleep. But when the guards brought food the next day, the cells were still just as quiet. No matter how he provoked them, no one answered; if he made a bigger fuss, he only got insults in return. He could not help feeling bored.

From beginning to end, the great Black Tortoise Prison had been lively for only a few days before returning to its former grim and lonely stillness.

Yet in secret, Lu Yanchang and Hongjian talked about many things, from his life and hobbies to the great blessed lands of Azure Mist Cave, which branch had outstanding figures, which branch housed what kind of beauties, and many other amusing tales from the martial world.

Hongjian listened more than she spoke.

She found that although Lu Yanchang talked a great deal, he was not at all annoying. Especially in such an environment, he was truly the kind of cellmate one could only dream of. With him for company, the days passed much more easily.

Hongjian's tally of straw markers gained a dozen more. Then, one day, the prison guard suddenly came to take Old Master Jing away.

Everyone was somewhat surprised. They had assumed that once someone was thrown into the Vermilion Bird Prison, it meant they had been abandoned and forgotten. Even Old Master Jing had said that the Dark Arts Prison had not bothered with him for many years, so much so that he had never even had a chance to defect. How, then, had someone suddenly remembered him?

The man in Cell Twelve said plainly, "Lu Yanchang, you're about to be in trouble."

Lu Yanchang replied carelessly, "Last time they moved me from White Tiger to Vermilion Bird. This time at worst they'll just move me from Vermilion Bird to Black Tortoise."

"Not necessarily. Maybe they'll cut out that troublesome tongue of yours." The man gave a laugh.

Lu Yanchang spat twice. After a moment, he suddenly said, "Looks like I'm about to part ways with all of you. Come on, Miss Fang, call me 'good brother' once for me to hear. And this gentleman, dare you tell us your name? We've been locked up together for so many days, and we still don't know what you're called."

After a pause, the man said, "My surname is Heliian by marriage and blood."

But Lu Yanchang's guess was off. Before Old Master Jing had even been brought back, the guards came again to take someone away. The one moved to Black Tortoise was not Lu Yanchang, but Hongjian.