No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 1011 Don't mess with the cook, he'll provide the meals.

As Ouyang Rong pondered, a clear wooden fish sound rang in his ears.

He paused for a moment, then counted the merits he had accumulated.

The approximate time for returning the vegetarian meal tonight has passed, and this is clearly an additional, new contribution.

In front of cell number C, Ouyang Rong lowered his head and glanced inside.

The sickly young man had managed to get the food box, was holding it in his arms, and was starting to eat.

The source of this small amount of merit is already quite obvious.

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips. Although he was not familiar with this person, he could see the sincerity of this sickly young man through the positive feedback of his merits.

However, Ouyang Rong did not let his guard down at all.

According to A Qing, Chen Jiaxin, and others, those who were imprisoned in this water dungeon were all extraordinary individuals, and all were "utterly wicked," having committed at least some heinous crimes in Yunmeng Jianze's eyes.

Of course, by this standard, Ouyang Rong, who stole the heart of the embroiderer, also falls within the scope of the Queen's Palace's definition of heinous crimes. He should be imprisoned and not allowed to go out and harm other innocent women.

The definition of good and evil can vary depending on the perspective and the context.

Ouyang Rong was aware of this, but it did not affect his rational judgment.

Human beings evolve, and so do good and evil.

While waiting, the taciturn young man suddenly turned around, took the other food boxes, left the passageway, and went down the stairs.

They didn't wait for the sickly young man to finish the leftovers.

The sickly young man, the fat old monk, and the old Taoist priest Sun, who had his back turned, all looked puzzled when they noticed the commotion.

Not long after, Ouyang Rong returned.

He was carrying a full bucket of water.

The icy waterfall water in the bucket swayed from side to side as Ouyang Rong carried it all the way to the front of cell number C.

This move also attracted the attention of inmates in other cells.

Old Master Sun frowned slightly.

The chubby old monk glanced at it twice and smiled.

Ouyang Rong remained silent.

Actually, this bucket of cold water had been sitting in the outer room for a long time. Ouyang Rong had followed Yun Xiangyi's instructions to fetch a bucket of waterfall water every other day and give it to her, who then brought it into this water dungeon.

However, ever since Yun Xiangyi left in a hurry that day, and since she didn't tell Ouyang Rong how to handle the bucket of water before she left, he didn't touch it, adhering to the principle of "better to do less than more".

However, at this moment, Ouyang Rong brought it back in.

Inside the Class C water dungeon, the sickly young man lying in front of the door had finished the leftovers from Old Master Sun's food box. Only then did he realize what was happening, and looked up at the taciturn young man who had relapsed into his dazed state in front of the door, noticing his strange behavior...

Ouyang Rong glanced at the water curtain prison door for a moment, then pushed the bucket of cold water into the water curtain without saying a word.

The bucket entered the water prison intact, just like the food box, with most of the bucket's body entering the water curtain door.

The sickly young man was stunned for a moment, then a look of excitement that Ouyang Rong could hardly understand appeared on his face.

He struggled forward, first pushing the empty food box out of the water curtain door with difficulty, then using his long, pale hand to grab the edge of the bucket and use it to support himself as he crawled closer.

Ouyang Rong saw that the sickly young man's face had turned a strange flush, perhaps because the amount of exercise was too much for him. This scene was like a lake that had been calm for a long time, suddenly broken by a small pebble.

The sickly young man finally reached the bucket. He pressed his palm against the edge of the bucket and suddenly pulled hard. The bucket tilted slightly towards him before falling back to its normal position. A little cold water spilled out of the bucket, and his efforts seemed to have been in vain.

However, the sickly young man did not give up. He continued to exert force with his palm, trying to overturn the bucket in his direction... He tried again and again in front of the water curtain prison door.

Seeing this, Ouyang Rong felt a little like helping him.

However, before him lay the mysterious Water Curtain Prison Gate, which Ouyang Rong had never tried to touch before. After a moment, he restrained himself.

Finally, by the water curtain door, with the force of the sickly young man's persistent hand, at a certain moment, the unsteady bucket of water tipped over with a splash onto the young man lying on the ground beside him.

The cool water from the waterfall outside poured down on the sickly young man.

His dirty sideburns and wrinkled clothes were completely soaked, turning him into a drowned rat.

The overflowing water flowed towards the water curtain prison door. Ouyang Rong, who was outside the door, glanced at the water flow during a break from observing the sickly young man's unusual behavior. He noticed that the water could not pass through the water curtain prison door and was completely blocked... This detail caught his eye.

Meanwhile, by the water curtain prison door, the soaking wet young man, who should have been drenched to the bone, was lying sprawled on the ground, panting heavily, with a relieved expression on his face, as if he had been exceptionally refreshed and comfortable after being doused with cold water.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ouyang Rong noticed that the pale color of his skin, which had been soaked by the icy waterfall, had temporarily faded, turning into a sickly crimson.

The sickly young man was no longer "sickly," no longer as lifeless and motionless as before, but his whole body trembled slightly under the stimulation of the cold waterfall water.

Previously stagnant muscles were now trembling and twitching, like sprites dancing on fingertips, coming to life... Seeing this, Ouyang Rong suddenly felt like a pot of boiling oil, the liquid inside jumping and bursting, regaining its vitality.

Ouyang Rong narrowed his eyes slightly and watched this scene silently.

Meanwhile, Old Master Sun had returned to the southeast corner of the cell and was sitting on the ground as usual, ignoring the commotion outside.

Only the chubby old man lingered by the water curtain door, watching the interactions between the two young men in front of cell number C with great interest.

Soaked to the bone, the sickly young man seemed to find a rare moment of relief, shaking off his previous numbness and weakness. He stared blankly at the colorful stalactites on the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

Ouyang Rong wasn't quite clear about his illness, so he didn't know whether this cold water stimulation of his muscles relieved the pain that tormented him day and night, adding a touch of brightness to his life that was on the verge of death from pain; or whether it simply provided a refreshing and invigorating experience.

Or perhaps both.

Ouyang Rong thought to himself, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

However, this time he finally understood why Yun Xiangyi had asked him to bring a bucket of ice water every night.

It turns out it was prepared "Wenxin" for the owner of cell number C. Looking at it this way, Yun Xiangyi is actually quite humane...

Ouyang Rong slowly withdrew his gaze, and without further delay, bent down to pack up the food box, preparing to leave and end today's prison visit. "Thank you, Your Excellency."

Just then, a voice suddenly came from inside the water curtain prison door.

He was a sickly young man.

At this moment, he had come to his senses, or rather, his body, which was feeling somewhat "comfortable," was once again covered by the numb pain of the illness.

Pouring cold water on your head only provides temporary relief; things will gradually return to normal, and eventually, nothing will change at all. Just like a bird with a broken wing that has only flown briefly, it will eventually run out of energy and fall to the ground, sooner or later.

However, at this moment, the sickly young man's previously stuttering and slow speech became slightly more fluent, and his speaking speed also sounded unusually fast.

Ouyang Rong didn't pay much attention to the clear sound of the wooden fish that rang in his ears again; he had just remembered an old friend.

The sickly young man lying on the ground looked somewhat like Ah Shan back then. Ouyang Rong remembered that when he first met him, he was also lying on a sickbed in a dimly lit room, with the same desolate and numb eyes, and quietly looking at him standing at the door.

Sometimes memory is a very torturous thing.

Ouyang Rong rarely reminisces about the past; most of the time, he looks forward. Even when comforting A Qing and others around him, he tells them to look ahead and not linger. Only when people are truly old do they start sitting in a chair reminiscing and living based on the past, rather than on the future.

But this wasn't because Ouyang Rong was optimistic; rather, it was because he was somewhat "afraid" of recalling things. He had a very good memory, and he would subconsciously review and recall those events and people over and over again. This was already somewhat torturous, let alone for a rational and intelligent brain to do it, which would only add to his troubles.

Ouyang Rong disliked drinking. After leaving Xunyang City and settling into the tranquility of Taoyuan Town, he had fewer social engagements and rarely drank. However, he felt that if one day he reached the end of the road and could only sit down to rest, he would definitely drink all day long and make wine his friend.

The only benefit of alcohol is that it numbs your active, thoughtful but useless brain, making it less likely to think about anything.

Ouyang Rong turned his head and glanced at the D-cell next door.

Old Master Sun had returned to the southeast corner of the cell and continued to sit there in silence.

"Whether it's the next day or the day after, I can bring some wine and mix it into the vegetarian meal and send it to Old Master Sun..." Ouyang Rong thought to himself for no reason.

Upon closer reflection, isn't Old Master Sun at this age of "looking back"? Isn't he in this lonely state of sitting in a daze all day, reminiscing about the past?
Although Ouyang Rong didn't know much about what the old Taoist had gone through to end up in this helpless and destitute state, he was quite certain that the old man needed some wine.

In other words, most of the prisoners in this water dungeon were like this, without exception.

At this moment, faced with the sickly young man's sincere thanks, Ouyang Rong wanted to say, "We are both wanderers in this world, why should we need to have known each other before?" But he quickly realized that he was still wearing the bronze mask and was Ashan's fake body. Saying such pretentious words in public would not fit his honest and simple character, so he kept quiet.

Ouyang Rong responded with only silence.

He picked up the food box, walked to cell number T, and looked at Old Master Sun in the corner.

The latter was about to fall back into that state of silence, but he was getting a little impatient with being stared at by him.

Old Master Sun closed his eyes and remained quiet for a while. Finally, as if he couldn't hold back any longer, he suddenly stood up, walked to the door of the Water Curtain Prison, and stared intently at the silent, wooden young man outside the door with his small eyes.

The two stared at each other for a while.

The chubby old monk next door watched with great interest, seemingly amazed that someone dared to provoke the old Taoist priest like this... He knew all too well the bad temper of his old cellmate.

Ouyang Rong remained silent, only staring at the grumpy-faced Old Daoist Sun.

After watching him for a while, she pointed to the food box in his hand and said:
"Kid, believe it or not, I, Daoist, think that I can use this food box to poison you and a bunch of people outside, and most of the people in this damn prison will also die."

Ouyang Rong's expression turned serious, and after seemingly considering the matter at length, he answered meticulously:
“If I die, no one will bring you vegetarian meals every night. Besides, I am the cook. Haven’t you heard the old saying?”

Old Master Sun's face darkened: "What are you saying?"

Ouyang Rong slowly nodded, his tone serious:

"Never mess with the cook, because he's the one who provides your meals."

Old Master Sun: ? ? ?
The chubby old monk: ...

sickly young man: ...

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the three nearby prison cells fell silent for a moment.

The old Taoist priest looked at the earnest but wooden-faced young man delivering the food for a while, then chuckled and turned his head away:

"Then do you know that there's another type of person you shouldn't mess with?"

"who."

Old Master Sun remained expressionless and uttered two words: "Doctor."

Before Ouyang Rong could ask, he said with a cold smile:

"Because he's the one who controls your life."

The chubby old monk seemed to understand and smiled silently.

Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, nodded, and agreed:
"Indeed, I have learned a great deal from your wise words, elder."

He paused, then added, "However, you don't seem like a truly wicked person."

Old Master Sun said with a forced smile, "You don't look like an honest and simple person either."

Seeing that he had coaxed the old Taoist priest to the edge of the Water Curtain Prison and made him calm, Ouyang Rong changed the subject and asked:
"The old man's suggestion was very good; watering with cold water is indeed effective. How often should this method be used?"

"Stop watering it. I've already said it's all the same whether it dies sooner or later. This sickly child is beyond saving. Stop pretending to shed tears."

Ouyang Rong's expression was somewhat solemn. He wasn't angered by the old Taoist's words about being "hypocritical," and he replied:

"It's just a small contribution; we can't just stand by and do nothing."

Old Master Sun chuckled and waved his hand in front of his nose as if shooing away annoying mosquitoes and flies:

"Come on, do you even know that it's because there are so many so-called righteous and virtuous people like you that there is so much suffering in the world?"

The old Taoist priest sneered repeatedly:
"Do you know that compared to hopeless despair, what is truly painful is pretending to try your best to give others hope first, and then letting them despair later?"

"If I hadn't seen you with my own eyes, I would have seriously doubted whether you were even a Confucian scholar. Such naive thinking is just like that of those pedantic scholars..."

(End of this chapter)