Fan Fan woke up when he heard the voice coming from the office outside the prison. It sounded very similar to what he and Gideon heard when they arrived. After a while, the prison guard brought three people dressed as pirates.
There is only one large cell in the prison, so these people are locked in with Fan Fan and Gideon. Darkness makes it difficult for people to understand newcomers. The only light came through under the moonlight outside the cell on the other side of the room.
Gideon didn't seem to be interested in those people. He was asleep, or at least he pretended to be asleep. Two of them find that they can occupy a corner, while the third, more outgoing guy talks to anyone who might give him any attention.
"What are you guys doing?" he said.
Fanfan almost told him before Gideon grabbed his arm in the dark. "We were framed," Fan Fan said.
"Framed? Yeah, we were framed too, didn't we, guys!" The man smiled.
The other two denied his wit, and considering their environment, they were not in the mood.
"So, what are you doing here?" Fan Fan asked.
This man left where Fanfan was against the wall, Gideon waited, "Young man, what's your name?" This man has a goatee and a silver earring on his left ear. His hair is black, shaggy, and smells like the sea.
"Fan Fan"
"Fan Fan, we were caught while bombing Morey's arsenal."
Gideon replied. "Morey has an arsenal in Tilly?"
"Yeah, woke you up, didn't you, sleepy bug?"
Gideon stood up, and then the pirates, they faced each other, looking at each other from head to toe. Fan Fan hoped that there would be no quarrel between them.
"Why does he have such a thing here?" Gideon asked.
"The war is going on, boy, don't you know?" the man said.
"Of course, I know."
"Well, boy, Tilly sold her soul to the devil three months ago. Morey will use this place as a staging area, and he will begin to suppress rebels in these places."
"Who are you, part of the rebellion?" Gideon asked.
"Yeah, I don't think it matters anymore, because we were caught. When the local law officer arrives tomorrow, they will still hang us all. They like a good place in Tilly, you know?" He grinned said laughingly. "My name is Ash, and my friends are Anthony and Blass."
"Where are you from?" Gideon asked.
Ash just smiled. He looked at Anthony and Blass and said, "I don't want any accidents to happen, how about you, pastor?"
Gideon had forgotten his priestly robes, and no one in the crowd seemed to notice what his clothes represented.
"Why, do you think I don't know a satan warrior priest?" Ash said, pretending to be insulting me. "Give more trust to the people in this world, boy. Judging from the face of your robe, I would say that you are out. What can we say, cut off responsibility?"
Fan Fan didn't dare to say that, but he started to like this man, Ash. In any case, they all seem to be in the same predicament.
Gideon relaxed a little. It's hard to understand how a person in Ash's position would despise their situation, but he didn't want to argue with him about this issue. Ash seems to be the kind of person who always turns conversation into his advantage.
"Satan will show us the way," Gideon said at last.
Fanfan and Gideon were surprised because Ash actually agreed with this statement. "Yes, he will. Maybe, just maybe," Ash said, looking at his friends, "He has done it."
"Get up, you dirty sewer rats!" said the gatekeeper as he opened the cell door. Several armed men stood by the cell with rifles and swords to prevent anyone from trying to escape. The wild gaze in their eyes made no one dare to try.
Fan Fan, Gideon, Ashe and his men are already sitting in the cell with all their attention. The guard opened the cell door. "Ladies, the sheriff wants to see you now," he said.
Ashe led them and walked out the door with a bright smile. "Good day, isn't it?" he said cheerfully, as if he was invited to drink tea, and the guard sneered at him.
Fanfan and Gideon followed the others out, "Are you praying?" Gideon quietly said to Fanfan.
"Of course it is," he said.
"Then the Almighty Lord will save us. The prophecies about you are irretrievable."
When they entered the room outside the prison, they stood in front of a man in a black robe, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and a curly white wig on their head. He was sitting at a table with a big black book full of laws under his right hand.
The judge gave them a cursory look, then talked to the prison guards, and at the same time served as the executive officer of their hearings. "Fa Jǐng, what crime did these people commit?" the administrator asked.
Fan Fan shèxìng pulled Gideon aside. He just noticed that the magistrate was controlled by a demon. He saw the soul of that person, this situation would not be very good.
"These two young men are accused of murdering an old woman," Fa Jǐng said. Fan Fan checked Fa Jǐng and he looked completely normal.
"Really?" the sheriff said to Fan Fan, fully confident that he had killed them. The powers of judges, juries, and executioners in these places are in the hands of the magistrates. Even if Fan Fan tried to tell the jailer about the devil, he would only be branded as a lunatic and sentenced to a fate more terrifying than death.
Fanfan feels desperate, but what Gideon said to him just now won't let him go. The prediction about you cannot be changed. If Fan Fan is really part of this prophecy, as Gideon said, then Satan's purpose for him must be fulfilled. No one or the devil has the ability to withdraw his counsel. Nevertheless, when a place on the gallows was waiting for him outside, it was difficult for him to maintain his confidence.
"Your Honor, they were arrested on the spot," said Fa Jǐng, "and we have many witnesses to prove this."
"It seems that you two young people were caught on the spot, just as they said," the magistrate said. So my judgment is that both of you will be hanged until you die. "
The last word carries the weight of the ultimate xìng. Fanfan has been waiting for signs that they will get better, but nothing happened, no lightning, no angels, and nothing.
He thought of the transformation of the realm. If he moved to the world of jīng gods, he could escape from them, but Gideon would be left behind. He can hide the priest and keep him away from the prying eyes of the devil, but he can't hide from the eyes of nature, and Fan Fan can't let himself give up Gideon. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)