My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 12 The Heavenly Prison Life and Death Contract

The scene was very quiet, and Shen Yan could hear their rapid breathing.

Clearly, everyone was unsettled.

The night was slightly cool.

But the jailers in the office had beads of sweat on their foreheads.

At this time.

The advisor stepped forward.

"Sir, now is not the time to get angry. This matter has not been resolved yet."

"Yes! What should we do, sir?"

"..."

The three jailers echoed in unison. Although they were of much higher status than the jailers, they were like ants in Yang Wanli's eyes.

The three were afraid, because the Ministry of Justice had a rule that a prison guard must be on duty in the prison every night.

Although this rule has been disregarded for decades, rules are rules, and once investigated thoroughly, no one can escape them.

"Stop arguing, all of you. Let me think about it. You tell me first, sir."

After receiving the order, the clerk looked at Shen Yan.

"Shen Yan, recite your conversation with Minister Yang word for word, without omitting a single detail."

Shen Yan recounted his conversation with Yang Wanli, and the clerk frowned upon hearing it.

Although Yang Wanli did not say anything when he left, Shangguan's intentions were the most difficult to fathom, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"This new official, Minister Yang, is making a big show of things as soon as he takes office, but why does he always end up in prison?"

Someone in the crowd blurted out this remark, and Xu Shaogong flew into a rage upon hearing it.

He had long been convinced that Yang Wanli was targeting him, because Xu Shaogong was a man of Ding Anzhi, the Right Vice Minister.

The imperial prison is a place brimming with riches; who wouldn't be envious?

Yang Wanli, being a newcomer, clearly saw Xu Shaogong as his breakthrough point.

"You will all bear the consequences of your own actions! Each of you, A, B, and C, should send one person out. The rest may be spared the death penalty, but they will not escape punishment. Here's the deal: ten taels of silver for each jailer and one hundred taels for each jail clerk."

"I will report this matter to Lord Ding tomorrow. Whether you can save your lives depends on your luck."

Feeling frustrated and not wanting to dwell on the matter any longer, Xu Shaogong gave everyone a number.

Although there are many, everyone can clearly distinguish between them and their own lives, and which is more important.

Money is easy to come by, but choosing a scapegoat is difficult; no one wants to be the one sent to their death.

Although no one has pronounced the sentence yet, the prison guards have seen too many such cases and know that the person being brought out has a slim chance of survival.

Ma Danian called the jailer from cell number C to his side; he wasn't happy being a jailer either.

Since taking office, he hasn't made any money; instead, he's lost a lot of it.

The situation was the same for prisons A and B; they were both taken away by their respective jailers for discussion.

Ma Danian looked at his subordinates and sighed softly.

"Everyone knows what happened, right? Of the five people on duty tonight, the four of you, excluding Shen Yan, will draw lots to determine whether you live or die!"

No one wants to die, so the practice of drawing lots to determine life or death came about. The person who draws the death lot is the unlucky one.

"Sun Fugui, go and make the preparations. Cao Jingtian, you four, good luck!"

Soon, Sun Fugui brought out the porcelain bowl they used when gambling, which was also the same bowl they had just used to play with dice.

There were four slips of paper inside, one of which had the word "death" written on it.

Each of the four people drew a paper. When Shen Yan saw them, his hand holding the paper trembled continuously. This thin piece of paper seemed to weigh a ton.

Soon, the unlucky guy appeared; it was Cao Jingtian.

Shen Yan looked at the person in front of him, who was about the same age as him, and was now kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly.

"Horse Head, save me! I'm not married yet, I don't want to die!"

Ma Danian shook his head slightly; how could someone who had seen so much life and death be moved by a few cries?

"If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place. If I had just been as obedient as Shen Yan, this wouldn't have happened."

"Don't worry, your family won't be mistreated after you leave. As is customary, half of next month's profit will be set aside for your family."

In Ma Danian's cell, only Cao Jingtian's sobs remained. Shen Yan looked at him and felt a pang of sympathy.

"Alas! Weeds and ants, easily broken by the wind, are so despicable."

Ma Danian handed the list to Xu Shaogong.

Sun Fugui tugged at Shen Yan's sleeve and said to him somewhat embarrassedly.

"Shen Yan, do you have any money to lend me? You know I've never had the habit of saving money."

Shen Yan frowned. This Sun Fugui was truly incorrigible. He was the only one who wasn't on night duty tonight; otherwise, he would definitely be among those listed in the life-and-death lottery.

"I told you to gamble less, how much more do you still owe? I just arrived in prison, and I haven't saved up much money yet."

"Hey, I can scrape together five taels. Could you lend me five taels?"

"So much? I only have two ounces left after deducting my own."

"Two ounces is fine, two ounces is fine too. I'll definitely pay you back when I get my share of the profits next month."

As he spoke, Sun Fugui took the two taels of silver given to him by Shen Yan and immediately ran to the other prison guards to see if he could borrow some.

Before we knew it, it was already dawn.

The sound of a rooster crowing rang out outside the prison.

Ma Danian returned and spoke to Cao Jingtian, who was slumped on the ground.

"Cao Jingtian, go home and say goodbye to your family! The three of you help him back and protect him. If anything happens to him, you're on your own!"

Ma Danian instructed the person who drew the birth lottery to escort Cao Jingtian home to say goodbye.

Shen Yan hid in a secluded corner, quietly waiting for the power within the Dao Fruit to emerge.

His skin radiated a faint golden light, as if the morning sun were shining on him.

In a short while, the light dissipated, and Shen Yan returned to normal.

He touched his skin and found that his body had become stronger, but the progress was not as obvious as before.

Although I could feel myself getting stronger, it wasn't as intense.

However, this was within Shen Yan's expectations. He had a weak foundation before, so his progress was naturally rapid. Now that he was a ninth-rank martial artist, he naturally couldn't have that feeling of transformation.

Back in his office, Shen Yan tidied up and prepared to go home.

The streets of Bianjing were very prosperous.

The sounds of vendors hawking their wares could be heard everywhere.

"Steamed buns, freshly baked white flour steamed buns."

"Selling steamed buns! Fresh steamed buns!"

"..."

He bought a steamed bun and ate it as he walked; he had once again narrowly escaped death last night.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. He couldn't help but wonder if he were Cao Jingtian in this situation, would he have any chance of survival?

He pondered all the way, but he still couldn't be sure. However, the probability of him surviving was still quite high.

……

……

The imperial prison, the jailer's cell.

Xu Shaogong glanced at the list handed over by the three prison guards and casually tossed it aside.

His fingers tapped incessantly on the table. The advisor, who had followed Xu Shaogong for many years, knew that Xu's mind was in turmoil at this moment.

"Master, what's going on with this guy surnamed Yang? In all the years the prison has been in existence, we've never encountered an official who comes to interrogate prisoners in the middle of the night like this."

"Master, Yang Wanli is definitely after Lord Ding. He's related to the Duke of Dingguo by marriage. He and Lord Ding's faction of upright officials have never gotten along. If he wants to make a name for himself in the Ministry of Justice, he has to stir up trouble."

"Sigh, these big shots are fighting, and I, a mere prison warden, am caught in the middle, pleasing neither side."

Xu Shaogong had a headache; the recent spate of incidents in the prison only strengthened his resolve to leave.

"Damn it, forget it, send the word down, cut off the profits of the Yi and Bing prisons next month as well."