I was startled, and quietly poured my Qi into my hands, ready to fight. Ye Jin also quietly moved to my side and protected my left side. What I didn't expect was that Lao Qiao also stood beside me after hesitating for a while.
The prison boss clearly knew we were about to take action, but he acted as if he saw nothing and still ordered his subordinates to take action. Just as the two ghost soldiers were about to move forward, a ghost soldier who seemed to be of a higher status hurriedly stopped them and said, "Boss, they just came in. It would be bad if too many of them died at once?"
The jailer hesitated for a moment before saying, "That's right, let them live one more day. Send them all three a final meal tomorrow night so they can eat their fill before they go. Let's play something else tomorrow."
The ghost soldier agreed, "Then we have to think about it carefully and make sure the boss has a good time tomorrow."
The jailer and his soldiers walked out laughing, but I said in a deep voice, "Don't you guys want to gamble your lives now?"
I don't know who said in the crowd: "It's you who will die tomorrow, not me. Why should I gamble my life with you?"
I smiled faintly and said, "How long do you think you can live if you don't gamble? If you think squatting in a place like this, exposed to the sun and wind, and living in fear just to breathe a few more days, you don't have to gamble."
People are afraid of death, but some people can ignore life and death for certain things. Such people are either heroes or local tyrants. There are just two such people around me, one is Xue Wuchang and the other is Gu Piaoran.
I looked at them with a half-smile and said, "Perhaps you two think that if you stay a few more days, there will be hope. If that's the case, you might as well wait and see."
Xue Wuchang spoke first: "I've made a bet! From now on, all members of the Hell Gate will obey Wu Zhao's command."
Gu Piaoran also gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone must listen to Wu Zhao's command. Whether it's life or death, we have to gamble on this. Wu Zhao, what do you want to do?"
I said in a deep voice: "It's very simple, just crying out for injustice."
"What did you say?" Xue Wuchang's eyes almost popped out. "You said you want to plead injustice? That's useless! I shouldn't have believed you."
Gu Piaoran was surprised and said, "Yes, cry out for injustice! Why didn't I think of that? Everyone, listen. When I count one, two, three, you all shout out loudly, 'The gods have no eyes, the case is unfair, the innocent are wronged, and the resentment is hard to settle.' Did you hear me?"
Gu Piaoran saw his men nod, then said, "Get ready first, and shout as loud as you can. Even if your heads fall off, you can't stop, understand?"
When Gu Piaoran was giving orders to his men, Ye Jin asked in a low voice, "Why did you ask them to cry out for injustice?"
I answered in a normal tone, "There is one thing about the criminal leader, which is that he thinks he is extremely fair. So, if you cry out for injustice, he will definitely be furious. Then, we will have a chance to escape."
Ye Jin was surprised and asked, "What can we do if he comes? How can we escape?"
I pursed my lips at Gu Piaoran: "Isn't he here?"
Xue Wuchang's eyes suddenly lit up: "People from Hell Gate, get ready and shout along with him."
Gu Piaoran didn't shout immediately, he was actually waiting for me to explain. When Xue Wuchang gave the order, Gu Piaoran immediately led his men to roar loudly, and several masters even used their internal strength.
"The gods have no eyes, the cases are judged unfairly, the innocent are wronged, and the resentment is hard to settle."
"The gods have no eyes, the cases are judged unfairly, the innocent are wronged, and the resentment is hard to settle."
"The gods have no eyes, the cases are judged unfairly, the innocent are wronged, and the resentment is hard to settle."
"… "
The people present were already filled with resentment, and their roars were just acting, but they were also venting their resentment. The rolling waves instantly overwhelmed the roar of the sea, and the endless resentment soared into the sky.
We hadn't shouted for long when the prison boss rushed over with his men in a panic: "Shut up! Are you looking for death?"
When the irresistible ghost suddenly arrived nearby, the shouts of dozens of warlocks suddenly stopped.
Gu Piaoran shouted sternly: "Keep shouting, don't stop!"
The prison boss' eyes suddenly turned red with anxiety: "Beat them, beat them to death, beat them until they stop shouting!"
More than a dozen jailers rushed into the cell with iron bars in hand, hitting the warlock head on. The Hell Gate Warlock was hit by the brunt of the attack and several people were knocked down in succession. Although those people held their heads in their hands and rolled on the ground, they were still roaring.
Xue Wuchang used his inner strength to hold the opponent's iron rod and shouted: "Keep shouting, everyone, this is our only chance to survive! Shout!"
"Beat him, beat him to death!" The prison boss grabbed the iron rod and rushed into the cell. The cell was in chaos, with people falling to the ground, while others were using their bodies to protect their companions, desperately resisting the iron rods.
The prison boss's eyes soon turned red with anxiety, and he shouted murderously: "Kill them! Kill them!"
The red-clad jailers quickly took a step back, leaving themselves enough space to swing the iron bars.
Just as the red-robed jailer was about to swing the iron rod, someone suddenly shouted, "Stop it!"
The jailer shuddered suddenly and knelt down respectfully: "Sir, this bunch of thieves are gathering to rebel against the prison, and I am suppressing them."
The warden strode over with his hands behind his back: "I seem to hear someone shouting 'ghosts and gods have no eyes'? Today I want to hear how ghosts and gods can have no eyes."
Gu Piaoran touched me gently from behind, meaning for me to speak first.
I stepped forward and said, "If the gods and ghosts have eyes, why didn't they see the prison boss abusing lynching and killing people?"
The warden said coldly: "There is no lynching in this prison."
As soon as the prison officer said this, there was a commotion among the crowd. The prison boss showed a sinister sneer and looked at me with murderous intent in his eyes.
"Hahaha..." I laughed up to the sky, "It seems that ghosts and gods are not only blind, but also unrighteous. Since you only want to kill people, just act like mountain spirits and water monsters. Why do you have to put on a face of justice and strictness, punishing sins on behalf of God?"
"Huh?" The prison officer's face suddenly darkened.
The jailer shouted, "Come here, take him down for me."
"Wait a moment." The prison officer said in a deep voice, "I want to hear what he wants to say. If he can't explain it today, I will personally execute him."
I stepped forward, looked directly at the warden and asked, "Excuse me, is there a provision in the law that allows for the punishment of those who commit crimes without any punishment?"
The warden shook his head and said, "Of course not. Everyone needs justice."
I pointed at the stone covering the human skin and asked, "Why did the prison boss knock on the prison door to pick out people, and then peel off the human skin and spread it on the stone without saying a word?"
The warden's face was extremely gloomy, and he squeezed out three words from between his teeth: "Really?"
The prison boss was so frightened that he knelt on the ground: "No, absolutely not! He just made it up!"
I looked at the warden again and said, "I have one more question. Which law says that the jailer can pick prisoners from the prison at will, bet on their lives, and crush them to death with sandbags?"
As soon as I finished speaking, the prison boss shouted angrily, "Shut up!"
"Shut up right there," the prison officer said coldly, "Whether what he said is true or false, I will make the final judgment. You don't need to interfere."
"Yes." The jailer trembled all over and crouched down, not daring to look at the warden again.
The warden, however, walked back and forth in the cell with his hands behind his back, and then cast his eyes toward the reef in the distance. After a long while, he slowly said, "It seems that I have been too lenient with you. I originally thought that you were promising talents, so I gave you magical powers and asked you to help me manage the prison. I have been blind for hundreds of years."
The jailer was so frightened that he screamed, "Sir, they are all thieves who deserve to be cut into pieces! You can't listen to their nonsense!"
The prison officer said coldly: "I am still not blind."
"Sir, please spare my life! In consideration of my service and dedication to you over the years, please..." When the jailer raised his head and looked at the warden, the latter had already opened his five fingers and slapped him in the face.
The warden smashed the prison boss's head with a slap, then strode towards the jailers. Before the ghosts could even beg for mercy, they were beaten to death one by one by the warden.
As the ghosts disappeared one after another, Gu Piaoran, Xue Wuchang, and I exchanged a few glances. They both had unprecedented solemnity in their eyes. Normally, after being smashed, ghosts should turn into cold wind even if they didn't explode into phosphorescent fire. But the dozen or so jailers disappeared silently under the hands of the prison warden. They were clearly not ghosts.
What on earth are these ghosts? And where is this island
I was just wondering when the warden came back and said in a deep voice, "You are very good. I will let you take charge of the cell temporarily because of your meritorious report. Come out and follow me!"
In ancient times, jailers, like yamen runners, were not regular government employees. They were usually hired privately by local officials. Therefore, local officials had the right to appoint and dismiss yamen runners at will. Also, because they did not pay much money or food to the yamen runners, they turned a blind eye to their secret ways of making money.
In the eyes of this prison warden, since he appointed me as the head of the prison, I should be overjoyed and grateful. However, I felt a chill in my heart - the prison warden asked me to go with him not to get me an official uniform, but to kill me and turn me into a person similar to those jailers.
I took a step back and said, "I won't go with you. We are innocent. Why should we stay in jail here? Why should we accept your so-called grace?"
"How dare you!" the warden roared, "This is a place where criminals are punished. You are innocent, so how can you come in from outside? Speak!"
As the warden roared, the pressure on him surged. If I said one wrong word, he would tear me to pieces on the spot. (To be continued)