That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

“…Young Miss, you’re so careful, you might get your head stuck in the iron bars. If that happens, I won’t be able to save you.”

"I just want to ask you, aren't we missing someone?"

Xie Yunqi covered his forehead, feeling a little dizzy from being squeezed:

"What about Lu Zhao? Didn't you say he was also guilty? Does that mean he's exempt from responsibility just because he was drunk as a dog?"

"Of course not."

Chen Zhao shook his head coldly:

“Lu Zhao was appointed by the commander as the supervisor, but he failed in his duties and did not keep a close eye on your actions, Miss. This is his crime. However, I think he was unaware of your plans, Miss, so he can use this opportunity to make amends.”

"Why should he get a chance to redeem himself?!"

Xie Yunqi felt it was very unfair:

"We can make amends, right Jingming? Right Aqing? Right Sister Fang?"

"Young Miss, give up on that idea. Just stay here and wait for the case to be solved."

Chen Sha stopped looking at him, turned around and strode away:

"Then the young lady will be the young lady again. No matter how you want to deal with me, I will come to you with my head!"

His footsteps echoed in the death row cell, gradually fading into the distance.

Xie Yunqi sat down dejectedly, resting his chin on his hands in melancholy.

"Why is all the grass wet?! It's disgusting!!!"

The melancholy girl jumped three feet high.

Jiang Jingming, who was listening in the next room, suddenly burst into silent laughter.

Even in death row, Xie Yunqi possessed a magical quality that brought joy to others.

Lu Zhao was left on duty at the Divine Capital Guard, where he would likely be assigned to do some manual labor.

Wen Fuxiao was not thrown into the death row along with the others, probably because his cooperation was still needed in the investigation of the dancer's assassination case.

Chen Sha's meaning was very clear: he wanted to keep them locked up until the case was thoroughly investigated.

Or perhaps, ten days is the final deadline given to this case by the Divine Capital Guard.

If they cannot find out the truth after ten days, they will give everyone a convincing truth.

That would be the worst possible outcome.

The Togetsu Church took the blame for this unclear and unexplained situation.

The group of righteous alliance members led by Chen Sha had long been dissatisfied with the outcome of the war ten years ago, and firmly believed that the Duyue Sect was still plotting to return to Zhongzhou.

They will seize this opportunity, waving the banner of justice, and launch another battle between good and evil.

Jiang Jingming closed his eyes and silently calculated in his mind.

"Dong dong, dong dong dong."

Five muffled thuds came from the stone wall behind them.

Jiang Jingming smiled, bent his knuckles, and tapped five times in response.

This was his secret code with Aqing.

As a child, I was confined by Lady Song in a narrow inner chamber in the tomb, where I never saw any light.

At first, Aqing had no choice but to sit outside with him for the entire night.

Later, she secretly learned how to pick locks.

If he hears a knocking sound like "knock, knock, knock," it means she's coming to rescue him.

At this moment, Jiang Jingming would look out through the crack in the door and see A Qing's clear eyes.

With a "click," the lock opened, and the two sneaked out of the tomb. They spent the whole night fishing, napping, and watching the moon by Crescent Lake.

Jiang Jingming waited until the next morning before sneaking back, pretending that nothing had happened.

However, it was later discovered that Madam Song had already discovered it, but she just turned a blind eye.

But she still managed to track down Shen Zhuo, the culprit who taught A Qing how to pick locks, and severely reduced his allowance for his next trip.

The reason Jiang Jingming remained so calm after being imprisoned was because he knew that this death row cell could not hold A Qing.

The structure and stone locks of the former dynasty's tomb of the Duyue Sect were comparable to ancient mechanisms, and Aqing could move freely inside as if it were her own territory, so this place would naturally be no problem for her either.

However, picking locks requires tools, and I wonder if Aqing has found any.

"No."

As if guessing what he was thinking, Aqing's voice came from behind the thick stone wall:

"They seemed to be very wary of me; everything I had was taken away."

Jiang Jingming chuckled upon hearing this. Aqing seemed unaware of how intimidating her cold demeanor was.

The Imperial Guards responsible for searching the body will definitely focus their attention on this cold and aloof girl with a murderous aura.

Are you looking for this?

Another sound came from behind the stone wall further away, accompanied by the clanging sound of metal clashing.

Jiang Jingming rolled over and stood up, gripping the railing as he looked to his right.

Fang Zhiyi casually rested her right hand on the iron railing, her sleeve half-rolled up, revealing a section of her frosty wrist.

A silver needle gleamed faintly in the candlelight at her fingertips.

"Aqing? Is that alright?"

Jiang Jingming now understands why people say someone's head got squeezed by a door when they're cursing, because getting your head squeezed by a door really does give you a feeling of being out of your mind.

"can."

Aqing also reached out her hand through the railing.

The girl's equally delicate and fair fingers tentatively met in the blind spot of their vision.

"Be careful, this is the last one. If it falls on the ground, you won't be able to find it."

In the silence, Fang Zhiyi smiled softly.

She even turned the needle upside down beforehand and handed it to Aqing by the end to avoid the possibility of her being pricked.

"Ah."

Aqing responded and took the silver needle.

It looks like an ordinary silver needle used for treating diseases; it is extremely thin, yet not easily broken.

Fang Zhiyi's needle roll was also taken away, but she was probably careful and hid a needle on her body, which was difficult to detect.

What are you doing?!

Xie Yunqi, like Jiang Jingming, squeezed his head into the iron bars, trying to see what was happening outside.

She vaguely sensed that the three of them were carrying out a plan in perfect unison, but she knew nothing about it, and she immediately felt a little anxious.

"Shhh."

Jiang Jingming knocked on the iron bars, signaling her not to speak yet.

She then stood up, walked to the stone wall closest to her, knelt down, and lowered her voice.

"Miss."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Xie Yunqi became inexplicably excited, like a child about to do something bad with someone else.

"If Aqing can lead us out, will you still come with us?"

Jiang Jingming's tone was calm, yet unusually serious.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Advancing and Retreating Together

In the current situation, if they escape from prison, it would mean completely breaking ties with the Divine Capital Guard and standing on the opposite side.

Chen Sha's warning tonight meant exactly that.

After escaping from prison, he would no longer show them any leniency because they were the young lady's friends.

If the young lady chooses to stop now, jump off the pirate ship and turn back to the right path, then she will be absolutely safe, and everything that may happen afterward will be irrelevant to her.

She only needs to wait ten days, and whatever the outcome, she will not get involved in this mess.

Thinking of this, Jiang Jingming lowered his eyes.

However, if the real culprit is still not found after ten days, the Divine Capital Guard will probably do as Jiang Wuwang predicted: convene that so-called Heroes' Assembly, gather all the forces of the Righteous Path Alliance, and formally declare war on the Crossing Moon Sect.

At that time, he would naturally stand with the people of the Duyue Cult.

Then his identity will be exposed.

The young lady of the Divine Capital Guard and the young master of the Crossing Moon Sect will return to their respective destinies, standing on the opposite side with no room for maneuver.

So, if we were to say goodbye here, our next meeting might be as enemies.

"What are you talking about!"

Xie Yunqi's angry voice pulled him from his thoughts:

"Of course I'm going with you guys! What else? Jingming, you big idiot!"

"..."

Jiang Jingming remained silent for a moment, then smiled silently.

That's true, why would Miss Xie consider so many things?

She probably just felt that since they were friends, they should be loyal to each other and absolutely not run away from each other.

With her boundless enthusiasm, even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, she would jump down without hesitation to save her friends.

Jiang Jingming leaned against the stone wall, tilting his head slightly upwards, and could only see a damp, dark mass.

"If you come with us, you'll end up as a fugitive, won't you?"

"So what!"

Xie Yunqi snorted, speaking with righteous indignation:

"If Chen Sha hadn't gone crazy and locked us up, would we have become fugitives? In the end, isn't it all his fault!"

"If he's a fugitive, he can't openly go to Tingyuxuan to eat oven-baked chicken and osmanthus-flavored glutinous rice lotus root."

Jiang Jingming rested his head on his arm and continued speaking with a smile.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yunqi indeed fell silent.

While still on the ferry across the Posuo River, the young lady said with great anticipation that once they arrived in Fengling City, they would go to the most famous restaurant, Tingyuxuan, to eat their signature dishes.

The taste of Beijing cuisine tends to be savory and slightly salty, while the taste of Fenglingcheng cuisine tends to be sweet.

Xie Yunqi has a sweet tooth; he was busy on his way there, hoping to treat himself well when he returned.

Before he could even get a meal, he unfortunately became a prisoner and was about to become an even more serious fugitive.

"Oven-roasted chicken is made by slowly roasting high-quality chicken over an oven using vinegar and wine instead of water, resulting in an incredibly crispy and fragrant dish. Osmanthus-scented glutinous rice lotus root is bright red in color and has a sweet and glutinous texture that is very appealing..."

Jiang Jingming spoke with great intonation and vivid imagery.

"Shut up!"

If it weren't for the stone wall separating them, Xie Yunqi would have reached out and covered his mouth.

She shook her head, banishing the fragrant roasted chicken and glutinous rice lotus root from her mind.

"I won't eat it! I'm destined to be the number one female knight-errant in the world, how could I abandon my friends for a mere bite of food?!"

"..."

Jiang Jingming was somewhat surprised by her resolute attitude.