The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 41 The Basement Level: Hidden Dragons and Crouching Tigers
Silent all night.

The next morning, Han Qing got up before dawn, first practicing a set of Nine Yin Manual in the courtyard, and then got up to prepare medicine for Master Fang.

Master Fang had previously said that he would assign a servant to brew medicine for him, so that he could save more time for martial arts practice, but Han Qing refused.

These teenagers know nothing about medicine and can't cook the medicine properly, so the decoction becomes poison.

Moreover, decocting medicine doesn't take much time.

At this moment, he was staring at the medicinal soup while carefully observing the Jade Void Skill.

Before long, the medicinal soup boiled. Han Qing got up and poured it into a bowl next to him, then carried it with both hands towards Master Fang's room.

It was just before dawn. Master Fang had just gotten up and was resting with his eyes closed. He placed the medicinal soup on the table next to him and was about to leave.

Master Fang reached into the cabinet, took out a small, bright green medicine bottle, and tossed it aside.

"Here you go. You won the bet again last time."

"Thank you, Master Fang." Han Qing grabbed the medicine bottle from a distance; inside was a Blood Nourishing Pill.

He turned and went out, put the medicine bottle in his pocket, and, wearing the jade pendant Yang Wu had given him the day before, headed straight for the Zaoban compound.

As soon as he entered, he glanced around and saw Sun Xiao waiting for him in front of him. The man was dressed in black and exuded a sense of oppression.

Upon seeing Han Qing arrive, Sun Xiao weighed the jade pendant in his hand; it was almost identical to the one Yang Wu had given him yesterday.

"This jade pendant is called the Pure Heart Jade. It can calm the mind and soothe the thoughts. You must wear it when you patrol the underground prison from now on. Remember that!" Sun Xiao said expressionlessly.

His personality and Ma Er's personality are two extremes, almost like he has facial paralysis, his emotions are like a stagnant pool when facing anyone.

Apart from their first meeting, when Han Qing saw him smile, she never saw him show any expression again.

"Alright." Han Qing nodded slightly, his right hand gripping the precious jade tightly, many guesses surfacing in his mind.

"Come on, follow me. I'll show you around today, but from now on you'll be going by yourself." Sun Xiao said, leading the way towards the prison cell.

Han Qing followed behind him, and soon they arrived at the prison cell door. After registering their names with the guard, the two stepped inside.

Sun Xiaoxian led him on a tour of the first and second floors, and it was still the same as before.

Most of the prisoners on the first floor were ordinary people who were also very law-abiding. When they saw the two of them, they remained silent and dared not even breathe.

There were many villains on the second floor, and even when they saw Yang Wu, they cursed and swore at him, let alone Sun Xiao and Han Qing.

However, the two of them were already used to it and remained calm.

Half an hour later, the two returned to the first floor and stood in front of a heavy wooden door. Behind the door was a deep, sloping corridor.

"Let's go, to the basement!" Sun Xiao stepped forward, opened the heavy copper lock behind the wooden door, and stepped inside first, with Han Qing following closely behind.

The moment he stepped inside, a cold wind rushed towards him, followed by a surge of murderous intent within him.

"A malevolent aura! Such a dense malevolent aura!" Han Qing was startled.

He was a military strategist who cultivated his spirit, and was most sensitive to malevolent energy.

He secretly channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes, and in an instant, the scenery before him changed drastically, with wisps of dark energy spreading all around.

He thought to himself that people in such an environment do have a chance of going crazy, which might be the reason for wearing the Pure Heart Jade.

He could clearly feel a cool energy emanating from the jade, circulating within his body and making his mind clearer.

As Sun Xiao walked inside, he explained in a deep voice, "Every stone brick in this corridor is forged from a mixture of beast blood, Heavenly Iron, Dark Pattern Sand, and other rare materials. It is indestructible. Even for me, breaking through the wall would be extremely difficult." Han Qing nodded slightly. All the prisoners held here were at least second-realm martial artists, and ordinary walls made of blue bricks simply could not hold them back.

Then Sun Xiao pointed to the two sides of the corridor, where long swords were stuck in the ground. The swords were covered with rust and looked like ancient weapons.

"When Emperor Taizu was conquering the world, there was a great battle near Baiyun County, which killed many people. These weapons are the remnants of that battle, and each one contains an astonishing killing aura."

Han Qing glanced around, using his spiritual power to enhance his eyes and detect the baleful aura. He could clearly see that these longswords were indeed surrounded by black energy.

Sun Xiao did not explain why he wanted to create an environment filled with malevolent energy, but Han Qing had a vague answer in his heart.

The malevolent energy can suppress magical thoughts; he had read many similar notes in books.

Some powerful armies can unleash overwhelming malevolent energy, which even top-tier cultivators must avoid, because the malevolent energy can disrupt the cultivator's spiritual power and render many of their spells ineffective.

"There must be cultivators of spirit refinement imprisoned in this cell. The baleful aura is specifically designed to target such people," Han Qingxin thought.

He pondered for a moment, then followed Sun Xiao to the end of this deep passage. There was another door in front of him, this time a thick bronze door, with a black-armored soldier on each side.

After Sun Xiao showed his waist tag, the two men turned around and opened the door, behind which was the actual place where prisoners were held.

"Let's go. Once we're inside, if we hear or see anything, don't pay any attention to it; it's all an illusion," Sun Xiao instructed, stepping through the bronze door.

"it is good."

Han Qing nodded slightly and followed.

Behind the door was a corridor with rows of cells on either side. It was unusually quiet inside, but when footsteps sounded, many prisoners stood up.

Han Qing glanced around and saw that all the prisoners were wearing heavy iron chains.

"Let me introduce you to a few people who need special attention recently." Sun Xiao said, walking inside while pointing to an old man with a pointed chin, long face, and a sinister expression in the cell on the left.

"This is Cui Shi'an, the former chief clerk of the yamen. He embezzled a huge amount of disaster relief funds and deserves the death penalty. He will be executed soon!"

"Hmph!" The old man snorted coldly, his gaze deep and unfathomable, and he remained silent.

"This is Hongdie, the embroiderer of the Zheng family. Half a year ago, she used a short knife to massacre nine members of the Zheng family and fled. She was only apprehended a month ago. Once Magistrate Qi has finalized the case, she will be beheaded immediately!"

"I'm innocent!"

Inside the cell, a slender woman let out a soft sob. Han Qing glanced at her and saw that her collarbone had been pierced, her feet were dangling in the air, and blood was dripping onto the ground.

However, Han Qing glanced at her and saw that although she was crying, she had a smile on her face, and she looked crazy and not like a normal person.

"This is Fang Yunhai, a notorious bandit from Black Cloud Mountain. Several months ago, he led his men to rob a caravan belonging to the Hanhai Escort Agency, killing and wounding more than ten people. He committed murder, arson, and all sorts of atrocities..."

"This is the skull lamp crafted by Liao Chen, a wicked monk from the Chenyuan Temple, using dead infants as material to cultivate evil magic..."

...

As Sun Xiao walked, he introduced the people, and Han Qing listened attentively, memorizing all the information about them.

He felt a surge of excitement. Although Sun Xiao hadn't mentioned the strength of these people, Han Qing could sense from their demeanor and aura that they were all formidable figures, including some who had even mastered the Divine Refinement Realm.

For example, that Red Butterfly, acting crazy, is very likely suffering from a qi deviation during the Refining Spirit Cultivation. Another example is Liao Chen, practicing evil techniques? Nine times out of ten, it's a visualization diagram from some school. And then there's Fang Yunhai, if he remembers correctly, Black Cloud Mountain and Yin Yang Dao also have connections, who knows, this person might have also learned the Refining Spirit Cultivation method.

If he could kill all these people, his martial arts level would rise to an unknown level.

(End of this chapter)