I just passed the imperial examination, what the heck is this "Celestial Official System"?

"Brother Huo?"

After finishing his day's work, Song Li walked towards the farmhouse and saw Huo Zhun.

"Brother Song."

Upon seeing that it was Song Li, Huo Zhun smiled and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Why haven't I seen Brother Huo come to Lingtian these days?"

Song Li asked curiously.

Huo Zhun revealed a smug look: "I suddenly felt an opportunity, so I went into seclusion in the clan. I was lucky enough to have reached the fifth level of Qi Gathering."

"Congratulations!"

Song Li offered his congratulations with clasped hands.

After reaching the fifth level of Qi Gathering, Huo Zhun will be able to rightfully assume an important position in the farmhouse, and it is not impossible for him to compete for the position of deputy director in a few years.

"Just lucky."

Although he spoke modestly, Huo Zhun's mouth was practically stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

Even if one doesn't work in the farmhouse anymore after reaching the fifth level of Qi Gathering, one can still have a good position in the Huo family.

He is only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old now.

He had been stuck at the fourth level of Qi Gathering for several months before, but now that he has stepped into the fifth level of Qi Gathering, he may have a chance to break through to the eighth rank and become the head of a branch in the future.

If it were before...

Song Li was naturally very envious.

But now, he can deal with it calmly.

If nothing unexpected happens, Huo Zhun will definitely get a very good ranking in this year's assessment.

Huo Zhun: "By the way, Brother Song, do you still remember the eldest young master of that family?"

"Current sayings?"

"Exactly."

"I went back to my clan today and overheard the elders talking about a group of mysterious people who wanted to rescue Shi Yan."

Song Li asked in surprise, "Wasn't Yan in the dark prison at that time?"

"Yes."

Huo Zhun nodded: "What's wrong with the world these days? Someone actually dares to break into prison. The last time was a hundred years ago."

The two chatted for a few more minutes about the Rong'an Marquis's residence.

Then they each went their separate ways.

......

......

North of Shannan County, the criminal detention center.

The dark prison.

It resembles a colossal black beast, poised to pounce and devour people at any moment, inspiring fear in all who behold it.

Because of the existence of the black jail, even the housing prices in the northern part of the city are much lower than in the other three places.

"Stop right there, who is it!"

A prison official in the jail saw someone approaching and shouted a rebuke.

"Brother Ma, it's me."

Liu Ding smiled broadly and casually took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve; it was bulging and heavy.

"It's Ding'er."

When Ma Kui, the guard, saw that it was Liu Ding from the martial arts department, he relaxed a little.

He calmly took the cloth bag from Liu Ding's hand.

Spirit stone.

At least three.

That's equivalent to half a year's salary for him.

Manager Zhang is known for his generosity.

Ever since the eldest son of the Rong'an Marquis's mansion was captured and imprisoned in the dark dungeon, Liu Ding has come here several times, and each time he has been extremely generous.

Ma Kui knew that Liu Ding was working for his brother-in-law, who was the deputy head of the martial arts department.

They wanted to extract martial arts techniques from Shi Yan.

The martial arts techniques of the Rong'an Marquis's mansion are even better than those of the county government.

but.

If it were really that simple, with their expertise in the eighty cruelest tortures, they would have already pried open all the cultivation techniques one by one.

But the eldest son of the Shi family was incredibly stubborn. For a whole month, he endured repeated tortures without uttering a single word.

That's why Ma Kui dared to let Liu Ding in so easily.

"Ding'er, come with me."

Ma Kui beckoned to Liu Ding.

"Okay."

Liu Ding nodded repeatedly with a smile and followed Ma Kui into the dark cell, cursing inwardly.

"What kind of thing is that?"

"Is that what you call Ding'er?"

But when she thought of her brother-in-law's stern face and the endless admonitions still ringing in her ears, she could only swallow her anger.

Thirty percent of the cells in the black jail were occupied.

Some of the newcomers are still able to roar and howl.

Those who stayed for more than a month basically became unrecognizable.

"What a beast!"

Liu Ding already considered himself ruthless, but compared to these criminal cultivators... he could only say, don't use your hobbies to challenge other people's livelihoods. When it comes to methods of torturing people, criminal cultivators are almost unparalleled, with no followers.

Even though he was a martial arts practitioner, he was still filled with fear.

He really didn't want to come if his brother-in-law hadn't ordered him to.

About the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

After walking for a while through the winding, dark prison, they finally spotted Shi Yan in a cell at the very end.

Cell B.

In the dark prison, the earlier the cell number, the more heavily guarded it is.

Class B is already the second largest.

This is more than worthy of Shi Yan's status.

"Alright, you have fifteen minutes to ask questions. That's the rule. No more spirit stones will be given."

Ma Kui shouted a rebuke.

He was clearly speaking to Xing Xiu, who was playing Pai Gow not far away.

He knew he would need to use the spirit stones he received to bribe those people, so he didn't feel guilty at all about taking Liu Ding's money.

They deserve it all.

"well."

Liu Ding nodded.

He then looked at Shi Yan, and even now, he still remembered the scene of Shi Yan's battle against the nine chief officials.

He's a ruthless person.

Liu Ding shrank back, but still mustered his courage: "Brother Ma, please open the door for me, I need to go in and talk to him."

Ma Kui frowned slightly.

I was somewhat displeased.

That's against the rules...it's a different price, you have to pay extra.

Liu Ding was very perceptive; he immediately took out another cloth bag from his bosom, which was larger and heavier, containing thirteen spirit stones.

Instantly.

Ma Kui smiled again: "We're brothers, how could I not help you with something like this?"

As he spoke, he took out his waist token and opened the cell.

Outsiders might not know, but he, as a criminal investigator, knew very well.

What makes this dark prison so formidable is not the few broken wooden stakes in the cells, but the dark prison itself.

Let's just say that.

Even if he leaves the cell doors wide open, the prisoners inside the dark cell can forget about leaving.

Because this dark prison itself is a huge magical artifact.

A series of unpleasant creaking sounds.

Liu Ding finally got his wish and entered the cell where Shi Yan was being held, but he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "These torturers are really corrupt when it comes to money."

He didn't speak.

Liu Ding took out a pill from his pocket and pretended to pinch Shi Yan's mouth and force it in.

Ma Kui, standing outside the door, immediately became agitated: "Hey, hey, hey, don't kill him!"

"Don't worry, Brother Ma, this is a truth-revealing pill. My brother-in-law spent a lot of money to buy it."

"Truth-Dispelling Pill?"

Upon hearing that it was a miraculous elixir, Ma Kui also became interested.

If this Truth-Expelling Pill can really pry open Shi Yan's mouth, then he can count it as a merit. Not only him, but several Xing Xiu who were playing cards also became interested and gathered around.

Shi Yan, who had been completely still and like a skeleton, suddenly started to move.

"There's a chance!"

Liu Ding's eyes shone even brighter.

He took two quick steps and just arrived in front of Shi Yan.

"what?"

What is this?

Then, Liu Ding's pupils contracted violently, becoming as small as pinholes.

"grass!"

The torturers outside the cell also looked as if they had seen a ghost.

A gray rat, three zhang tall with a pair of huge ears, opened its blood-red maw and chewed Liu Ding up and swallowed him whole with its sharp teeth.

The chilling sound of bones cracking echoed through the cell.