It doesn't matter what the lord is.

But Reed's expression never changed, as calm as a pond in autumn.

Celius tapped his fingers on the table twice and said slowly:

"So this is your purpose..."

Reed didn't answer. He neither admitted nor objected. He looked like he didn't understand and was playing with the cup in his hand calmly.

Celius continued:

"You came to Xi Qin as a businessman to lower the vigilance of the Anbu; you took out the best steel to attract the attention of experts; you deliberately broke the rules to try to meet people with higher positions; you kept testing the bottom line to slowly test my attitude... You have enough wisdom, scheming and skills, but I don't know how capable you are."

Before Reed could open his mouth, the doors and windows in the house suddenly exploded at the same time, and countless arrows shot from all directions, aiming directly at Reed's head!

At the critical moment, Alayya drew out two long swords at the same time, and the sword light was like the sunshine in the midsummer shining on the forest after the rain, and the light flashed brilliantly. Most of the arrows shot at were swept away, and only one red arrow broke free from Alayya's sword energy and still went straight to Lid's head.

Without blinking, Reed raised his hand nonchalantly, pinched the arrow as if picking a flower, and placed it calmly on the table.

The arrow made of fine steel made a crisp "click" sound when it collided with the table, and Reed smiled at Celius.

Celius let out a breath, went to find a kettle, and added some tea to both of their cups.

Alaya, who couldn't see the situation, did not put away the sword, but stood with the sword in hand, protecting her young master.

Celius said calmly:

"Baima is not your real name... People like you must have a good reputation, because you are the young man closest to the prince that I have met over the years. But I will not ask your name, it is your business. I will tell you a story as a final bonus for this business."

Reed nodded.

Serius crossed his fingers and placed them on the table. The broken doors and windows were still letting in the wind, and his clothes were obviously not warm enough. He shivered slightly when he touched the cold wind. Serius himself didn't seem to care. He stared at the arrow on the table and slowly said:

"Eighteen years ago, not long after the establishment of the Central Taiwan Political Affairs Council, a young man was elected as the host of the political affairs council. It was not because of his outstanding ability, but simply because the position at that time required a guy who looked harmless. At that time, the host had no power. What he had to do every day was very simple. He just moved a stool to sit on the stage, propped up his head and watched the people below quarreling all day long. It felt like raising a group of flies as pets."

"Later, everyone realized that although this set of policies sounded helpful for the development of the territory, in fact, most of the time was spent on meaningless internal friction. So there were voices saying that the power of the presiding officer should be strengthened, so that the presiding officer can truly preside over the political affairs and even lead the direction of the political affairs."

"So the presiding officer position suddenly became a coveted position. The young man did not want to be involved in factional struggles, so he took the initiative to resign. Unexpectedly, a letter of appointment came from the top, and the lord personally decided that the young man would stay in the position. Later, the young man thought about it many times and realized that he actually did not have the ability to match it, but what the lord needed was precisely his lack of ability... This is exactly the same as when he first took the position, but the meaning contained in it is completely different."

"He has been in this position for eighteen years. Eighteen years have drained away his few talents, and the only thing that has grown is his vision. During these eighteen years, he has gradually come into contact with some unspeakable truths of Western Qin. Just wandering on the edge of the truth, just realizing that it is 'abnormal', has already consumed all his courage. But in fact, he has a little hope in these years, that is, the growing up Prince of Western Qin. The presiding officer of the Central Council is a man of little ability, and he does not have the courage to step forward and change anything, so he placed his hope on the prince, and he believed that his vision would not be wrong."

After he finished speaking, Serius sighed, and he seemed to have aged a lot.

Lid listened quietly without any reaction, and replied coldly:

"So when do we go to collect the debt? Will Lord Celius take us there personally?"

In this transaction, Reid must not make his own purpose public.

He could play dumb with Celius, but he absolutely could not reveal the truth. Celius felt that he needed to tell Reed the reason, so that both parties of the transaction would trust each other more. But for Reed, he only needed to test Celius's attitude, and there was no need to further open up to Celius.

So he asked a very crucial question: Will you take us there yourself?

If he only pointed to a location, Lid would be wary of it because he didn't know the situation there. If it was a trap, it would be bad. But as long as Celius went with him, it would be equivalent to both parties boarding the same pirate ship. After all, Celius' realm was basically zero, and he was the best hostage.

Celius took a sip of tea, regained his usual calmness and composure, and replied:

"Yes. But I will remind you one last time, it is very dangerous there... Really dangerous. No matter how confident you are, it is completely impossible to bring the prince out. You must be prepared for this."

Lid also took another sip of tea, narrowed his eyes and asked:

"Danger?"

Celius nodded:

"There is a person standing guard there that you absolutely do not want to see. No one can get close to it, and no one can escape from it. It is the most secure prison in the world, and it is the last place to hold some extremely heinous criminals. Since its establishment, Xi Qin has gone through countless storms, but nothing has ever gone wrong there."

Lid put down his teacup, stood up, picked up his coat from the back of the chair, and said as he put it on:

"Then I really want to see it."

Celius was silent for a moment, then said:

"Let's gather here tomorrow night and I'll take you there. From what I know, the guard is not there every day. If we can catch up with the time when he's not there, the difficulty will be much lower... although it's still difficult. Even if we exclude that master, the remaining people are all above the ninth level. In order to avoid suspicion, I will not bring my guards, and you will have to rely on yourselves for everything."

Lid smiled and patted Alayya on the shoulder, then turned to look at Serius and said:

"I don't think it's my turn to deal with a few ninth-level masters. My maid can handle them. Although I don't know how strong the master you mentioned is, I have to give it a try. If I don't try, who knows how long Ying Bai will be imprisoned. Maybe when he comes out of there in fifty years, he won't be able to pay back the money he owes me."

Celius also smiled, stretched out his hand, and shook hands with Lid:

"Then, happy cooperation?"

"Pleasant to work with."

11. Twelve Dragon Prisons

"【Twelve Dragon Prison】, this is where the prince is imprisoned."

The next night, Celius wore a dark cloak and prepared one for Alaia and Lid.

No one knew what material the cloak was made of, but it could almost completely conceal a person's whereabouts in a pitch-black environment. This made Reed feel that every place had its own treasures. No wonder the dark organization in Xi Qin was also very powerful.

As Reed and Alayya put on their cloaks, Celius said simply:

"[圄] means prison, [十二] means that the prison can hold up to twelve prisoners at a time, and [束龙] means that even if there is a real dragon here, it will be trapped tightly. It is a secret prison built underground in Yuanyang City, a large prison guarded by the Western Qin territory for generations. Those who have the ability to enter there are all vicious human thugs."

Lid added:

"And now it is used to imprison your own prince of Xi Qin."

Celius pulled at the brim of his cloak and answered:

"The Twelve Dragon Binding Prisons are divided into six heavenly cells and six earthly cells. The prince is imprisoned in cell number one of the heavenly cells... Let's go."

The streets were still empty, as if the people of Xi Qin always went to bed early at night. Lid asked Selius this question casually, and Selius replied that he couldn't remember when the people of Xi Qin became more and more silent. They went out early and came back late, had almost no communication with each other, and went to bed early at night.

Occasionally, someone would go missing or die inexplicably, but these were overshadowed by the reputation of being the best territory in the world. It was like a clear sky with the sun shining brightly, and everyone was bathed in the sun's rays, and no one cared about the small dark cloud above their heads. Many people would even say that this was a manifestation of self-discipline, because there was a curfew in the laws of the early Western Qin Dynasty, and although it has been abolished now, perhaps the people are still enforcing it spontaneously.

Lid thought again of the drunkard who died in Bieyun Town and the rich young master who fled in a hurry.

The people of Yuanyang City have a strange look in their eyes...

This was the last clue he got. When they actually got along, Lid felt that whether it was the owner of the weapon shop, the tax officer Qi Zheng or the Serius in front of him, they all looked quite normal. For a moment, Lid couldn't make any further judgments, he could only hope that Ying Bai knew something.

The route to the Twelve Dragon Binding Prison was very complicated. Reed followed Serius around several turns. Serius walked into a seemingly ordinary house and unlocked it with a key. He then stopped in front of a well in the yard, beckoned Reed and Alayya to come over, and pointed down the well.

Reed spread out his breath and explored the situation in the well, and found that there was no water in the well and the space at the bottom of the well was unusually spacious.

"It's here."

Celius lowered his voice and said:

"Hold your breath and concentrate. Don't speak until I give you a signal."

Lid and Alayya nodded. Selius picked up the water scoop beside him and knocked on the well four times, one long, two short, and one long. After a while, a ringing sound came from the well, and then someone at the bottom of the well said:

"Moonless night."

Celius replied briefly:

"Flowers grow on the ground."

The signal was correct, and the sound of rollers was heard, and a large wooden barrel was slowly rolled up. Serius, Alaya, and Lid sat in it, and the barrel slowly went down again. It was obviously much darker underground than on the ground, with only a few torches lit on both sides of the passage. Several grim-faced guards stood beside the barrel, their hands on their swords, and said to Serius:

"Why are you here?"

Celius replied:

"By order of the Lord, I am interrogating the prisoner in Cell No. 4, Diao Qiu."

The guard seemed to be familiar with this, and stopped asking questions. Instead, he made way for the guard and said:

"Take the adults there."

Two guards of the middle level of the ninth level stepped forward from the crowd and led Celius, Lid and Alayya to the Tianzi Prison. Lid restrained his breath, but his eyes moved quickly. The underground roads were connected in all directions, like a maze. If you make a mistake, you might be trapped. However, Lid's sense of direction and memory are outstanding, so this little problem is not difficult for him.

The first principle of rescuing people is to determine an escape route and not to put yourself in danger.

Just now, Selius deliberately did not give out Ying Bai's name, in order to let the guards relax their vigilance. But even so, the guards did not let Selius act alone, and still sent two people to monitor him. This shows that they are not confident in Selius, and it also shows that here, preventing prisoners from escaping is more important than keeping intelligence confidential.

The second principle of rescuing people is not to arouse the suspicion of the guards before rescuing them.

The two guards walked in front and behind, sandwiching Celius, Lid and Alayya in the middle. Celius glanced at Lid, indicating that Lid could only do so much, and the rest would depend on them. Lid nodded slightly, stopped talking, and only gently touched the mark on his arm.

"It's right here. If you have any questions, please ask them quickly."

The guard pointed to the prison gate. Lid noticed that the prison here was different from the iron fence he remembered, and more like a solitary confinement room. The door here was a thickened one made of fine steel, with only a small window on it. A lazy female voice came from the other side of the window, with an indescribable charm:

"It's so late, why don't you let me have a good rest? What tricks are you going to use today, whips, candles, or spikes? Young people are so energetic, I can't handle it."

Celius glanced at Lid again, then said to the person in the window:

"Diao Qiu, the day before yesterday, the Anbu organization reported to me that they had found news about your sister. She agreed to hand over the Qingfeng Mingyue Lamp that you stole in exchange for your life..."

Reed looked at the two guards, paying attention to their expressions, and the moment their eyes shifted away, he suddenly raised his hand.

The little ghost was like a gust of white wind, instantly bringing the two of them into a dream. The two stood up, not falling down, but their eyes were dull and their bodies were motionless.

The speed was so fast that even the woman in the cell didn't notice it. She even tried to hide her nervousness with a smile:

"She's much smarter than me, so she won't be caught by you... huh?"

While she was talking, Lid had stepped forward, rummaged through the guard's body, and found a bunch of keys. Lid showed the keys to Serius, who closed his eyes and thought for a while, then pointed to the most plain key. Lid took the key off and took it with him, and threw the rest of the keys into the prison cell of Mink Fur through the window.

Then Reid began to observe the surrounding situation and prepared to walk towards Room No. 1.

Before leaving, a grateful voice came from Room 4:

"...Brother, which road is outside? Can you tell me your name?"

Lid looked at Serius, and after he nodded, he said to the woman he had never met before:

"Yunyang White Horse."

A light laugh came from room 4:

"I thought you were here to save me... It seems I was just being sentimental. But I will remember this favor. If we can get out of here, the other people imprisoned in this prison will also be grateful to you, sir."

Lid replied briefly:

"No need. It's your ability to get out of here."

After saying that, he took Alayya and sneaked with Selius towards the No. 1 Prison.

This is the only purpose of his trip.

12. The Last Great Swordsman

On the way to the No. 1 prison, the little ghost reminded Lid:

"These guys are the hardest to deal with among humans. They have a strange aura on them. Although I can still make them fall into illusions, it requires more energy than usual. Based on the current consumption, I can only help you get to the door of Room No. 1. After that, it's up to you. [┐(??｀)┌]"

Lid nodded:

"That's good."

All the guards he met on the way were dragged into the illusion by the little ghost, and Reed rushed to the door of No. 1 Tianzi in one breath.

Without even looking around, Reed took out the key from his pocket to unlock the door, then kicked open the heavy iron door.

A bloody smell hits me in the face!

Lid was stunned for a moment. He had thought that Xiaobai must have suffered a lot in Xiqin, but he didn't expect the situation to be so serious. Yingbai was nailed to a cross, with long nails of unknown material piercing his limbs, and iron chains piercing his scapula, binding him tightly.

Lid could recognize the skinny guy in front of him as Xiao Bai, not because of his eyesight or brainpower, but because of his fucking imagination. Because this guy was so different from the expressionless and cold handsome guy Lid was familiar with, and only from his breath could he still see his original shadow.

After noticing someone opening the door, Ying Bai raised his head.

The moment he saw Reed, there was no joy in his eyes, but instead a deep fear.

"you……"

Before Xiao Bai could finish his words, he choked on the blood in his mouth. He spat out the blood and coughed twice before continuing:

"Why are you here...?"

Lid stepped forward and said:

"I must be here to take you out, otherwise why would I go through so much trouble to come in and laugh at you?"

Xiaobai shook his head:

"Go quickly...it's dangerous here..."

Because he was too weak, Xiaobai was always weak when speaking. He must be very anxious, which can be seen from his expression, but he couldn't finish all his words immediately because his blood and qi were so weak that it was difficult for him to speak. Lide felt a little distressed when he saw this, and wanted to say, "I have already broken in, so why should I be afraid of danger?" But when he met Xiaobai's gaze, he suddenly realized something.