In the Ming Dynasty, I became invincible simply by extracting memories!

Time flies, and several days have passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Shen Lian was sitting in the courtyard reading a book when he was suddenly interrupted.

"Mr. Shen!"

Shen Lian looked towards the door and saw a burly man with a large box in his left hand and a jar around his right arm. It was Zhou Kui.

"Commander Zhou!" Shen Lian stood up, put the book aside, and smiled. "Are you healed?"

"Hey," Zhou Kui placed two items on the stone table in the courtyard. They were a box of food and a jar of wine. "Old Zhou is tough and thick-skinned. What's a little injury like this?"

"Look at you, you even brought things."

"I asked my wife to cook a few dishes, especially to congratulate Mr. Shen on his housewarming!"

"Not at all. If it weren't for you, Commander Zhou, this housewarming day would probably have become my death anniversary."

"Hey, let's not talk about that." Zhou Kui opened the food box, took out the dishes, and laid them all over the table. "Come on, let's have a good drink today!"

At this moment, the door to the west room opened a crack, revealing half of Yi Dong's head. Upon seeing that it was Zhou Kui, he shrank back inside.

Shen Lian called out to the east room, "Fang Xuejian, come out for dinner!"

After a while, Fang Xuejian's voice came from inside the room: "I'm not eating anymore."

Shen Lian shook his head. This kid locks himself in his room every day to tinker with his experiments; he's practically obsessed.

"Alright," Shen Lian shook his head, "then let's eat together. Just so you know, I don't drink alcohol."

"This...okay! I'm in luck."

The two ate and chatted, with Shen Lian drinking tea instead of wine, and they had a very pleasant conversation.

"Zhou Kui, I never expected a rough guy like you to suddenly have a wife." Shen Lian picked up a piece of food. "Hmm, your cooking is pretty good. You're lucky to have such a good wife."

"Mr. Shen, to be honest!" Zhou Kui downed a glass of wine in one gulp, "I, Zhou Kui, haven't accomplished much in my life. There are only three things I can be proud of: first, marrying a good wife; second, joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard and becoming a centurion; and the third..." Zhou Kui pointed at Shen Lian, "is that I met you, Mr. Shen!"

"I, Shen, am utterly unworthy of such kindness!"

"Mr. Shen, there's no need to be modest. From the day I met you, I knew you were no ordinary person. I, Zhou Kui, have lived most of my life and seen all kinds of people, but I've never heard of anyone as extraordinary as you, Mr. Shen. It's truly an eye-opener for me. For that alone, I must drink to my heart's content!" With that, Zhou Kui poured himself another full glass, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

After a few rounds of drinks, Shen Lian noticed that Zhou Kui was already somewhat drunk, so he snatched Zhou Kui's wine jar, smelled it, and found the aroma to be enticing: indeed good wine!

"Mr. Shen... let's have another drink."

"Commander Zhou, you can't drink anymore."

"Who said that? I can drink another hundred cups."

Zhou Kui tried to snatch the wine jar, but Shen Lian couldn't stop him and had to give it to him.

Zhou Kui touched the wine jar, looked inside, and laughed, "There's still more than half left. It's all Mr. Shen's fault for not drinking. All the good wine that Old Sun gave me has gone to me."

"You can take it home and drink it slowly, why bother... wait a minute," Shen Lian felt his heart skip a beat, "Who gave you this wine?"

"It's Old Sun, the one who watches the prison."

Shen Lian stood up, his eyes wide, feeling as if he had been struck by lightning.

"What's wrong, Mr. Shen? Let me tell you, don't let Old Sun's usual slovenly appearance fool you, when it comes to drinking..."

Shen Lian looked at Zhou Kui and saw that his lips had turned black at some point.

"This liquor...it's really strong..."

"With winter and with summer!" Shen Lian shouted loudly.

"Pfft—" Zhou Kui suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked at the bloodstains on his body, then at Shen Lian, "Mr. Shen, this..." and then collapsed to the ground.

"With winter and with summer!"

"What happened?" The door to the west room opened, and two people came out. "Oh no!" Yi Dong exclaimed when she saw Zhou Kui lying on the ground. Yi Xia rushed to Zhou Kui's side, touched his neck, and after a moment, looked at Shen Lian and said, "He's dead."

Shen Lian's vision went black, and he felt dizzy and about to fall to the ground when Yi Dong quickly caught him.

"Young Master Shen, are you alright?"

"Wine..." Shen Lian pointed to the wine jar on the ground and said weakly.

Both women looked horrified.

"How much did you drink? Yi Xia, go call the doctor! Young Master Shen, lie down, I'll induce vomiting for you." Yi Dong pressed down on Shen Lian's blanket, making him lie down.

"No... I didn't drink it." Shen Lian pushed her hand away. "I'm fine... I'm fine... Yi Xia, come back."

Hearing the commotion, Fang Xuejian ran out of the door and saw Zhou Kui lying on the ground. He exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Yi Dong helped Shen Lian sit down, while Yi Xia went over to examine Zhou Kui's corpse.

After a long while, Shen Lian finally felt he could catch his breath. He looked up at the three people standing in front of him.

Xia stepped forward and said, "It is the Soul-Severing Powder, which is colorless and odorless, slow to take effect, and once it takes effect, it can kill you instantly."

"Alright, alright!" Shen Lian laughed, stood up, and said, "Fang Xuejian, you stay here. Yi Dong and Yi Xia, we're leaving!"

"Let's go?" Yi Dong stopped him. "Where to?"

"The Imperial Prison of the Northern Garrison Command".

……

Everyone called him Jailer Sun, because no one remembered his real name, and also because he had been a jailer for most of his life.

To be fair, prison guard Sun did a pretty good job in the prison. Not only did his colleagues praise him highly, but he also got along well with many of the other inmates.

With his own work ability and experience, he could easily have become a captain or even a centurion, but he remained a lowly jailer in this damp and gloomy prison.

Whenever someone asks him, "Old Sun, are you planning to die in this prison?"

The jailer, Sun, would always smile and say, "Of course."

The others thought he was joking and laughed it off.

But now he knows it's time.

He untied the gourd from his waist and gulped down two large mouthfuls. His rough hands wiped the wine stains from his lips, and he glanced sideways at the setting sun streaming through the prison gates. The orange-red light fell on his wrinkled face, making his already sinister features appear even darker. In his decades in the imperial prison, he had seen countless high-ranking officials enter and countless corpses carried out. No matter how important a figure was, once they arrived here, they would be skinned alive, their bones ground to dust. Today's task was pre-arranged; the money for the wine had been delivered to his dilapidated courtyard half a month ago—a heavy bag, enough for his good-for-nothing son to get a house and a wife.

He stretched and was about to lock the door to the innermost empty cell when he heard footsteps behind him, neither too heavy nor too light. Unlike the dragging, swaying footsteps of his fellow inmates, these were steady, carrying an indescribable chill. The jailer, Sun, pressed his hand to the short knife concealed at his waist, slowly turned around, and immediately plastered his usual憨厚 (honest and simple) smile on his face: "Who is it? It's almost time for shift change. Visitors will have to come tomorrow..." He stopped mid-sentence, then recognized the person, and his smile froze on his face. "It's... Mr. Shen? What brings you here?"

Shen Lian stood in the shadows of the corridor, his blue robes damp and heavy from the prison's humidity. His face was expressionless, his eyes fixed on the jailer, Sun, a gaze like a knife piercing Sun's heart: "Zhou Kui is dead."

The jailer's face twitched, and he secretly reached behind his back, trying to appear calm: "Commander Zhou? Wasn't he injured a few days ago and went home to recuperate? How could he be dead? Mr. Shen, you must be joking. My old bones can't take a fright."

"You gave Zhou Kui the wine, and you laced it with a poison that could kill." Shen Lian took a step forward, his boots creaking on the damp flagstones, the sound particularly jarring in the quiet prison corridor. "We have no grudge against each other, and Zhou Kui has no grudge against you either. Who sent you to do it?"

"Mr. Shen, I don't understand what you're saying. What 'Soul-Severing Powder,' what 'I was ordered to do it'? I'm just a jailer, how could I dare to do such a deadly job!" As the jailer Sun spoke, he suddenly drew a short knife from his waist and stabbed it towards Shen Lian's chest. "Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, let's die together!"

Just as the blade reached him, a figure flashed out from beside Shen Lian, grabbing the jailer Sun's wrist. With a slight pull, a crisp "crack" was heard, and the short knife clattered to the ground. The jailer Sun was in so much pain that cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, and he couldn't even scream. Upon closer inspection, the jailer Sun realized it was a woman he had never seen before.

Shen Lian bent down to look at the jailer Sun's face and repeated coldly, "Speak, who sent you?"

Sun, the jailer, gritted his teeth, his throat making a hoarse sound. Suddenly, he raised his head and rammed into Shen Lian's face, his other hand secretly reaching into his chest. Xia was prepared and kicked him in the stomach with her knee. Sun instantly bent over like a shrimp, his whole body went limp, and the thing in his arms fell out and rolled all over the ground. It turned out to be a packet of medicine powder.

"Uh..."

"Just because you didn't tell me doesn't mean I don't know!"

Shen Lian grabbed his neck with one claw, and Sun the jailer's memories began to flood back.

"Father, save me, Father!" Inside the cell, a disheveled young man clutched his arm through the cell door. "I only talked to that woman because she was pretty! I'm innocent!"

She shook off the young man's hand, saying, "You scoundrel, how dare you touch the prefect's daughter?"

"Father, I'm your only son. If I'm gone, the Sun family line will end. You have to find a way to save me, Father!"

He didn't say anything and walked away silently.

……

"Lord Liu, please help me..." He pushed a package over the table. "This is most of my life savings."

The man sitting opposite him—Liu Fu, the commander of a thousand households—simply lifted a corner of the package, glanced at it casually, and laughed, "Jailer Sun, it's not that I don't want to help you. That prefect only has one daughter, and she was actually harassed in public by a commoner. He even told me that he's determined to castrate your son."

"Sir, please help me, please help me..."

"You can leave now, there's no need to say anything more."

……

"Warden Sun, do you want to save your son? If you do me a favor, I'll guarantee your family's lineage."

"As Lord Liu commands."

"Shen Lian, do you know him?"

"know."

"Alright, the higher-ups want him dead. If you can accomplish this, we will treat you fairly. This packet of poison is colorless and odorless; as long as you can find a way to get Shen Lian to take it... Also, if you are exposed, lure Shen Lian to the Northern Garrison Prison, and I will make the arrangements then..."

The memory abruptly ended. The prison guard Sun in Shen Lian's hands trembled all over, panting heavily, with blood foam coming out of his throat. Then his body stiffened, black blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, his eyes widened, and his head lolled to the side before he breathed his last.

Shen Lian released the prison guard Sun and watched his body slowly slide down to the corner of the wall.

Xia bent down to examine him for a moment, then shook her head at Shen Lian.

Although my memory of the last part is very blurry, but...

"Let's go, let's get out of here!" Shen Lian said, then led the two toward the exit.

"Be careful!"

Suddenly, Shen Lian was shoved by Yi Xia. Before he could react, a crossbow bolt flew past Shen Lian's forehead and hit the wall behind him, creating a spark.

Xia drew his sword, and Dong also pulled out a dagger from his pocket. Seeing this, Shen Lian also picked up Sun Yuzu's sword and took it in his hand.

"Damn it, this is a trap, a premeditated trap," Shen Lian said in a low voice.

I can only blame myself for being too righteous and careless at the time.

The dimly lit dungeon was silent, and Shen Lian could hear his own heartbeat gradually quickening.

Xia pressed her ear against the wall and whispered, "Four, or more—all experts." She straightened up and said, "I'll deal with them; you protect him."

"Okay, be careful," Yi Dong replied softly.

Xia nodded slightly, then lightly touched the ground with her toes and glided into the shadows of the prison like a swallow.

"Young Master Shen, this way." Yi Dong led Shen Lian, and the two slowly walked towards the exit.

As they reached a corner, a dark figure attacked from above, and Yi Dong hurriedly raised his dagger to block it.

With a loud "bang!", the two blades clashed, sparking a burst of sparks that illuminated Yi Dong's and the other's faces, which were covered by black cloth.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged more than ten blows. Although Shen Lian did not understand martial arts, he could see that Yi Dong could only parry against the masked man, but had no power to retaliate. Moreover, they did not know if there were other enemies around. If they dragged it out any longer, they would probably both die here.

Thinking of this, Shen Lian gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly, "Damn it, I'll risk it!" He charged toward the masked man with his knife.

The masked man was locked in fierce combat with Yi Dong when he saw Shen Lian charging towards him with a knife. Startled, his swordsmanship faltered, allowing Yi Dong to find an opening and slash his arm.

The masked man, in pain and enraged, swung his blade fiercely. Yi Dong dared not take the blow head-on and jumped back to dodge the blade. This dodge, however, gave the masked man an opening. He bypassed Yi Dong and charged straight at Shen Lian with his blade.

"Young Master Shen, be careful!"

"Die!" the masked man shouted.

Shen Lian watched as the gleaming steel blade hurtled straight toward his face...