Chapter 23: Cellmate to a Tyrant

The cold wind made Cheng Ruyi shiver.

The man in the weeds opened his eyes, and familiar sights flooded his vision. Cold cell walls, a small creature with gray ears scurrying past and offering a squeaky, enthusiastic greeting. Cheng Ruyi knew this place well. Was this not the Dali Prison, which, while slightly better than the Imperial Prison, was still a cage?

Compared to the Imperial Prison, Cheng Ruyi was more accustomed to the environment of the Dali Prison. After all, he had spent more time here, and there had been no kind-hearted King of Hell to move him onto a soft couch to rest. He wondered if that cold-faced King of Hell was currently dead or alive.

How had it come to this? Cheng Ruyi couldn’t fathom it. Bored, he reached out, grabbed a handful of straw from a pile, and began weaving a straw doll in the dim light.

To go through so much trouble only to end up back at the starting point—was this simply his fate? Cheng Ruyi sighed to himself, his hands moving faster. Under his tinkering, the clump of weeds actually began to take on a human shape.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Cheng Ruyi’s shoulder stiffened. A familiar voice, one he had heard not long ago, rang out in his ear, sounding utterly unbelievable. The tone of the man outside the cell was still as cold as the snow that never melted on a mountain peak. Cheng Ruyi was completely stunned, doubting he had heard correctly, yet he dared not look up to confirm.

The cell lock clicked. The King of Hell—that devil he had only just parted ways with—stepped forward, leaning in as if determined to meet his eyes.

Yan Kuang glanced at the work in Cheng Ruyi’s hands and asked, "Are you weaving a straw doll of Yan?"

"W-what?" Cheng Ruyi shook his head, clutching the doll. "I was just thinking, in case I don't even have a complete corpse in the end, I’d at least have a little doll to serve as a memento."

The jailer responsible for escorting Yan Kuang locked the cell door and left, but Yan Kuang acted as if he were returning home. He sat down next to Cheng Ruyi with practiced ease and, without a hint of politeness, took the straw doll from his hands.

"That explanation is far too forced."

Cheng Ruyi rolled his eyes. "If you don't believe me... feel free to tear it apart and see."

Yan Kuang returned the doll. "It would be a pity to destroy your efforts. Besides, Yan does not have many days left to live; there is no need to trouble yourself with weaving a doll."

These words left Cheng Ruyi feeling strangely unsettled. He thought this man was truly bizarre—why would anyone like to curse themselves day and night by hanging the words "not a good death" on their lips?

Cheng Ruyi frowned. "What, did you come in here specifically to die with me?"

Yan Kuang countered, "Are you still so eager to die?"

Cheng Ruyi sighed. He thought to himself, was it that he wanted to die? Was it that he didn't want to keep their appointment? It was just that his luck was abysmal... He hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. Remembering Yan Kuang being besieged earlier, he quickly asked, "The light is too dim here, I can't see clearly. Are you injured?"

"Minor wounds, nothing to worry about," Yan Kuang said, then pressed his fingers against Cheng Ruyi’s forehead.

Cheng Ruyi leaned against his fingers and whispered, "I was knocked unconscious. I’ve only just woken up, and no one has come to interrogate me yet."

Yan Kuang remembered well that Cheng Ruyi had just escaped death’s door. Even if he had recovered well, he couldn't help but worry about him. Finding that the other man had no fever or further injuries, Yan Kuang replied, "That sounds like you are blaming me. Rest assured, the methods of the Dali Temple are far inferior to those of Yan."

Cheng Ruyi was both angry and amused. Knowing Yan Kuang was teasing him, he simply pouted. "How would I dare to blame you, Master Yan? But Master Yan, I had originally thought that if things went wrong, I wouldn't betray you... but now that you’ve thrown yourself into the net and insisted on being my cellmate... I’m afraid neither of us is getting out."

Yan Kuang withdrew his hand. "Do you think all of this is an accident?"

Hearing this question, Cheng Ruyi recalled the details: a group of experts tracking Yan Kuang, being discovered and forced to attack, and then he himself being caught by the Emperor... It truly was strange no matter how he looked at it.

Yan Kuang continued, "I asked the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple for you, and he told me you were sent by a 'noble person.' He dare not release you easily, nor does he dare to dispose of you casually."

Recalling the heart-stopping moment of running into the Emperor on the street, Cheng Ruyi sincerely agreed, "Yes... a noble person indeed, noble beyond compare."

"It seems this noble person is the same one who sent people to ambush me."

Once Yan Kuang said this, it confirmed Cheng Ruyi’s suspicions. He thought to himself that while he hadn't intended to live long anyway, seeing this man run in to be buried with him left a sour taste in his mouth.

Cheng Ruyi asked earnestly, "Knowing this, you still ran in here to die... Yan Kuang, do you have some old ailment in your brain? We are really going to die here this time... When we get down there, don't complain about me to the real King of Hell; it wasn't me who invited you here..."

Yan Kuang only replied, "To catch a thief, you need the stolen goods. What are your charges?"

Cheng Ruyi: "If I said it was because I bumped into a noble person while hunched over, would you believe me?"

Yan Kuang replied succinctly, "I believe you."

Cheng Ruyi asked in return, "And you... what are your charges? Murdering someone on the street or brawling?"

Yan Kuang said, "Having no official position, I cannot kill at will. I merely beat someone into a critical condition."

"Merely... critical condition?"

Cheng Ruyi looked around, pretending to sigh. "I never expected this, Master Yan. A few days ago, you were the judge and I was the ghost, and now we have become cellmates. It seems we will be hitting the road together before long... but this cell is dilapidated and cramped. I wonder if Master Yan is used to such living conditions?"

Yan Kuang said bluntly, "If you find it crowded, I shall go to another room."

"That's not it..." Cheng Ruyi said helplessly. "When Ruoniang said you didn't understand human speech at all, I even spoke up for you. Now it seems she wasn't wrong..."

"She was here just now." Reminded by Cheng Ruyi, Yan Kuang reached into his robes, pulled out a coin purse, and tossed it to him. "I happened to run into her while looking for you at Qingshi Bridge. She came to pay back the money."

Cheng Ruyi held the purse, stunned for a moment, then set it aside and covered it with straw. Knowing his lie had been exposed by Ruoniang, Cheng Ruyi felt awkward and changed the subject. "Er... then how did you know I was here? Did that noble person specially send you a message..."

Yan Kuang shook his head. "After ten years as an official, Yan still has a few eyes in the capital."

With that, Yan Kuang tore off a piece of Cheng Ruyi’s sleeve, removed his bracer, and pulled the cloth strip taut with his teeth, beginning to bandage the knife wound on his arm.

Cheng Ruyi finally saw it clearly and leaned over, hesitant. "Do you... need help?"

"No need to trouble yourself."

As Yan Kuang spoke, he indeed finished tending to the wound in a few movements. However, while trying to tie the bracer back on, he accidentally snapped the cord.

"Sigh..."

Cheng Ruyi sighed. Before Yan Kuang could react, he felt his wrist go limp. Cheng Ruyi took his arm, properly refastened the bracer, and tore another piece of cloth from his own sleeve to twist into a rope, wrapping it around his arm a few times to tie it securely.

A sudden ripple of emotion passed through Yan Kuang’s eyes. This kind of minor injury that didn't damage bone or tendon was like a daily occurrence to him; he never took it to heart, and naturally, no one had cared about it for a long time.

Cheng Ruyi did not notice the change in his expression and only carefully tied the cloth rope for him, muttering, "Ruoniang was really right."

Yan Kuang suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but frown slightly. "What did she say to you?"

"She said... you have a strange temper, are obsessed with saving face, are stubborn as a mule, have poor taste, and don't get close to women as if you had..."

"Stop." Before Cheng Ruyi could finish, Yan Kuang interrupted him, looking at him steadily. "May Yan offer an explanation?"

Cheng Ruyi felt a chill down his back from that direct, emotionless gaze and could only nod repeatedly. "Yes... of course."

Yan Kuang paused and looked the man before him up and down but didn't begin his explanation, only saying, "You don't dislike her? You can talk to her for this long?"

Cheng Ruyi smiled. "Dislike? Ruoniang is bold, righteous, and unconstrained by trifles. As a woman, she does not fear the hardships of the world and stands firm between heaven and earth. I admire her too much to dislike her... Besides, she is my savior. I am merely a sinner; what qualifications do I have to dislike her?"

Yan Kuang nodded in understanding. "You are indeed different from those scholars who fancy themselves noble and pure."

"Of course, how could Master Yan misjudge a person?" Cheng Ruyi raised an eyebrow.

"..."

Yan Kuang was momentarily at a loss for words, then shifted the conversation. "Ruoniang is indeed a remarkable woman. I admire her from the bottom of my heart as well."

In Cheng Ruyi’s mind, a bizarre image instantly appeared: Ruoniang carrying a corpse she had just pulled from the river and asking him to give her a hand. This older sister, the ghost of the Capital River who fished up corpses, truly shattered the world's stereotypes about women, and Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but be curious.

He had originally thought he might have a chance to go see her with Yan Kuang, but now, not knowing if there was a tomorrow, getting to know her through Yan Kuang's words was a wish fulfilled.

Seeing the expectant look in Cheng Ruyi’s eyes, Yan Kuang began, "Ruoniang was, in fact, once the most beautiful woman in all of Yangzhou."

"Wha..."

Cheng Ruyi cast an incredulous look. Ruoniang did often hang the phrase "old lady is as beautiful as a flower" on her lips, but Cheng Ruyi had only taken it as self-deprecating banter. While he didn't look down on her, he had never taken it seriously.

After all, Yangzhou had been a place of romance and sentiment since ancient times; it lacked for nothing if not beauties. How could Ruoniang have "broken through the siege" to be the most beautiful in all of Yangzhou?

But then Cheng Ruyi thought, Ruoniang had indeed admitted she was once a woman of the red-light district. If she looked like this now, how could she have...

Yan Kuang continued, "When she was young, she was sold to Yangzhou. She didn't remember where she was from, and as far back as she could remember, she was in the back courtyards, maneuvering to survive."

Hearing this, Cheng Ruyi frowned, as if recalling some past event, and simply shook his head.

Yan Kuang went on, "There was another woman who depended on her for survival, named Yuru. She was a bit older, and the two were like sisters. When Ruoniang was seventeen, they were gifted to two different court officials by their master."

Cheng Ruyi sighed. Among the powerful court officials, they loved nothing more than to treat these women like gifts, passing them back and forth. "Thin horses"—they were naturally not treated as human beings.

Yan Kuang suddenly gripped Cheng Ruyi’s shoulder and leaned in to whisper, "Ruoniang’s master was later involved in a secret case."

"I was ordered to go and silence them."

Cheng Ruyi shuddered at these words, nodding stiffly.

Yan Kuang said, "That night, she was unfortunately called to pour wine and should have been among those to be silenced. But at the time, she hid under the table, kowtowing to me repeatedly, begging me not to kill her."

Cheng Ruyi instantly had a picture in his mind: a cold-blooded assassin, an innocent and pitiful beauty; one high above with a blood-stained sword, the other trembling and begging humbly. He thought to himself: *This is absolutely... a great subject for a wuxia romance novel!*

Suddenly, in the image, Yan Kuang thrust his sword out, piercing the beauty who was begging for mercy. Cheng Ruyi snapped back to reality, remembering the gruesome scars Ruoniang had shown him earlier.

"You stabbed her with your sword... didn't you?" Cheng Ruyi said.

Yan Kuang acknowledged it silently. "After her wounds healed, she offered herself to me. Thinking I had refused because I looked down on her background, she pestered me, saying she wanted to be my concubine."