NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68: The Dungeon Turmoil
Chapter 68: The Dungeon Turmoil
Xu Lian had overestimated his own endurance. In the dungeon, he couldn’t sit, lie down, or stand still, so he paced back and forth in agitation.
As the saying goes, “It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.” Previously, when he lived with Li Xiya and Wang Cuiyun in the old, modest house on the old street in Green Bamboo Town, he didn’t mind it much. But now, having grown accustomed to a life of luxury – where he had wine and meat during the day and a fragrant wife and concubine at night – how could he endure this stench-filled dungeon?
“Just bear with it. Didn’t that young master Lin say he would get you out in a few days?”
Qin Lu, with a round belly, lay on a pile of dry straw in the corner, using a blade of grass to pick his teeth, looking thoroughly content.
Xu Lian went to the cell door, took a deep breath, and then went back to lean against the wall and slowly sat down.
He realized that his heart had been corrupted by a life of luxury, and he couldn’t bear this minor hardship. This was not a good sign.
In the filthy dungeon, cultivating his mind and body and regaining the clear and resolute mindset he had when he first arrived in this strange world was the only way to survive in this chaotic era.
Qin Lu looked at him curiously, puzzled by his sudden calmness, as if he had become a steadfast rock blending into the dungeon’s environment.
The Next Day.
Xu Lian had originally planned to cause a disturbance to draw the county magistrate’s attention, but he decided to stay in the dungeon for a few more days to hone his restless and unsettled spirit.
At noon, Xiao Yu brought the food box. Obviously, Lin Chengyu had bribed the guards to allow the food to be delivered.
Xu Lian didn’t refuse the kind gesture, as he was using this time to cultivate his mind and body, and not to deliberately subject himself to the dungeon’s food as a form of self-torture, which would be a bit excessive.
Qin Lu also benefited from the meal, eating happily but suddenly feeling a bit melancholy. “You’ve spoiled me so much that when you leave, I’ll have to readapt to the dungeon food again.”
Xu Lian patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, you’ve already adapted once, and with experience, readapting won’t be hard.”
Is this human talk… Qin Lu’s lips twitched, “What I mean is, when you leave, can you take me with you?”
Xu Lian replied, “Sure.”
Qin Lu was taken aback, having prepared himself to beg pitifully… he hadn’t expected Xu Lian to agree so readily, leaving him bewildered.
He found it hard to believe, “We’ve only met in the dungeon, for just one day, and you’re willing to help me?”
“For me, it’s a small favor. Why not?”
When Xu Lian shows his purple jade token, taking someone along would just be a word, “You only dug up some wealthy families’ ancestral graves, nothing more heinous, right?”
Xiao Yu’s eyes widened, digging up ancestral graves, isn’t that heinous enough?
“…” Qin Lu thought for a while and said, “I don’t like others to owe me, nor do I like to owe others. If you take me out, I will repay you.”
“Alright.”
Xu Lian didn’t mind; at worst, a tomb raider would only get some valuable burial goods, but he no longer had much use for worldly wealth.
Xiao Yu couldn’t stay long, so she cleaned up the bowls and left.
Before leaving, Qin Lu complimented her, saying that the girl was truly diligent, and whoever marries her will be blessed. This made her blush.
On the third day, Xu Lian didn’t cause any trouble.
On the fourth day, Xu Lian still didn’t move.
On the fifth day, X u Lian felt that his restless spirit had been tempered, just as he was about to cause a disturbance, Gu Yanming, the young master of the magistrate, arrived.
“I heard from Lin Chengyu that you are a guest staying at his house, not a servant. I was a little suspicious. How could a servant dare to stop my carriage?”
Gu Yanming had the guards bring a chair and sat at the cell door, a young girl in his arms, playing with her while talking to Xu Lian, with a row of strong guards standing behind him.
Xu Lian glanced calmly at the girl, recognizing that she wasn’t the same one from the carriage a few days ago, “That’s right, I was never a servant.”
Gu Yanming sneered, “That day on the street, when the maid told me you were a servant, I was furious. A mere servant dares to insult a young master like me? When I found out that you weren’t a servant, my anger subsided by half.
But when I heard that Lin Chengyu’s maid brought you meals every day with all kinds of delicacies, my anger flared up again.
Considering the good relationship between my father and Lin Chengyu’s father, I had already promised Lin Chengyu not to kill you. But he forgot to give me a face and let you live so comfortably in the dungeon.”
Xu Lian asked, “So what now?”
Gu Yanming’s voice turned cold, “So I’ve changed my mind!”
With that, he waved his hand.
The guard gave Xu Lian a pitiful look and unlocked the cell with a key.
The strong guards flexed their muscles, obviously ready to enter the cell and beat Xu Lian up.
Qin Lu’s face turned pale, and he hid in the corner.
“No need for that.”
Xu Lian looked at the guard who unlocked the cell. He grabbed the iron bars of the cell with both hands, and with a little effort, the bars bent like noodles. He stepped out.
The guard froze, the large bunch of keys in his hand clattering to the ground.
Qin Lu, who was hiding in the corner, was also stunned, his eyes wide as copper bells.
Sitting on the chair, Gu Yanming’s face changed drastically. He pushed away the girl in his arms and stepped back.
The strong guards were also astonished. The thick iron rods were so easily bent, which indicated that at least someone at the cultivation level of muscle refinement was involved. This person’s strength was beyond their expectations.
Xu Lian moved!
Then, there was nothing left.
All the onlookers saw a blur and “thud thud thud” sounds as the strong guards were thrown like sandbags, landing in a heap, writhing in pain and unable to get up.
Gu Yanming stood rooted to the spot, his face pale. He had already planned to run when he saw the situation turn bad, but he didn’t expect the fight to end so quickly!
Xu Lian raised his hand and slapped Gu Yanming’s face.
Gu Yanming instinctively tried to dodge, but “smack!” a powerful force hit his face, sending his body flying like a straw, crashing into the dungeon wall, and falling to the ground!
A deep handprint appeared on his face, and he lay on the ground coughing blood from his nose and mouth, with a few bloody teeth falling out!
“That day on the street, you saw me dressed in simple clothes and guessed that my family was not well off. You said that my parents had scrimped and saved to send me to the martial arts school, and I should know how to cherish it. Since you understand this, why don’t you know how to cherish it yourself?”
Xu Lian pulled the chair over, sat on it, and stepped on Gu Yanming’s face like he was educating a child. “From what you said, you actually understand the principles of being a human being. You just can’t control yourself, right?”
The girl Gu Yanming had brought fainted, a puddle of water under her, it was clearly from fear.
The guards, writhing on the ground in pain, dared not move, pretending to be unconscious.
The guard responsible for unlocking the cell didn’t dare move either, his face pale and his body trembling. He stood next to Xu Lian’s chair, and anyone who didn’t know better would think he was Xu Lian’s servant… except for the large “Prison” character on his chest, which was quite eye-catching.
The other guards had fled in terror.
Qin Lu watched Xu Lian’s actions in fear, his body drenched in cold sweat. When the county magistrate came, would he be implicated and executed along with Xu Lian? With this thought, he quickly lay down and buried himself in the dry straw.