Wait a minute, where is my master?

"Seventh Prince, the 'imposter' Golden Core cultivator who was pretending to be the night watchman has disappeared!"

"Disappeared?"

Upon the soft couch, Xia Yunzhao, who was pondering whether or not to continue sending messages to Jin Xu, was startled and looked up when she heard these words.

"Yes, this servant was on the way to the heavenly jail to convey Your Highness's orders when I encountered the guard who had come to report. He told me that the man had suddenly vanished, and the jail's prohibition formation hadn't been triggered. It was discovered when the jailer brought him his meal."

The maid answered respectfully.

"Go search, send people to search immediately!"

The Seventh Princess had not anticipated such a situation.

While she had acted somewhat capriciously in handling this matter, her initial intention was merely to play a joke, since the other party had pointed out exactly what should not have been mentioned.

Besides, although Xu Qian was confined in the heavenly jail these past days, he hadn't really suffered, it was just that his living conditions were poor, his food was bad, and his freedom was restricted.

Well... alright, Xu Qian indeed hadn't enjoyed any comfort in the heavenly jail.

However, being locked up in jail could also be seen as a form of covert protection.

Xia Yunzhao knew the purpose of his visit to Shangjing City. As the Seventh Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, her channels of information were naturally much broader than those of a mere seventh-grade night watchman.

At that time in Shangjing City, though the great battle had just ended and the surface seemed calm, undercurrents were surging. A small Golden Core Realm cultivator getting involved could die without ever knowing how.

So it might be better to stay put in the heavenly jail honestly and wait for the storm to pass.

Of course, she was doing all this in consideration of Jin Xu's face.

After all, the young Taoist seemed to have taken good care of him before he left.

But now the man had suddenly disappeared...

"Jin Xu shouldn't blame me for this matter, right?"

Xia Yunzhao pondered to herself on the soft couch.

...

...

Little Platform Mountain, Xuanxu Temple.

The night was deep and serene, all sounds were hushed.

Jin Xu was holding an ink jade fishing rod, standing in front of a wooden barrel.

Lying beside the barrel was Xu Qian, who was still not fully conscious.

"Eh, young master, when did this big silly guy arrive?"

Yu Yaoer, carrying a bowl of an unknown liquid, walked out from the kitchen and curiously asked upon seeing the scene in the courtyard.

"Little Yu, let me have a sip!"

Shiqi was following behind her, seemingly very interested in the bowl of unknown liquid.

"Little White, wait a moment. This is a new soup I've concocted using Spirit Fruit from Five Dragon Mountain. Let's ask the young master first if he wants some."

"No need to ask, I won't drink it."

The young Taoist quickly replied.

"Well then, this is for you, Little White."

"..."

Shiqi contentedly drank the bowl of unknown liquid.

Next to the water barrel, Xu Qian finally woke up from the dizziness caused by the spatial fluctuation.

He shook his head vigorously and propped himself up to sit.

"Hiss, wasn't I sleeping? This is... Jin Xu, the young Taoist!"

He had been fished over in his sleep.

After recognizing the person in front of him, Xu Qian unhesitatingly rushed to hug the Taoist's leg and wailed.

"Taoist, you've come to Shangjing City too? Did you plead my case with the Seventh Princess, and that's why I was let out?"

"...Did he offend Xia Yunzhao?"

Jin Xu thought to himself.

After discovering Xu Qian's message from three days ago, acting on the principle of whether there's a fish or not, he cast a line.

He took out the ink jade fishing rod that he had thrown under the bed and decided to try his luck to see if he could fish the man back.

It wasn't the young Taoist's fault; the token only had the words "save me" on it, without any details about where, how, or what danger was encountered.

Although Jin Xu was a Taoist, he was clearly not the kind who could divine the future, so he had to rely on this sometimes effective and sometimes not ink jade rod.

But unexpectedly, the fishing rod genuinely managed to bring the person back.

"Let go."

"Taoist, I... okay!"

Watching the golden Thunder Arc that was slightly pulsing in Jin Xu's right hand, Xu Qian quickly snapped away and stood up.

He respectfully bowed to the young Taoist and said,

"Thank you, Jin Xu, for rescuing me from the heavenly prison!"

"The heavenly prison?"

The young Taoist was internally puzzled, but he kept a calm face as he let Xu Qian explain what exactly had happened.

Why suddenly ask for help on the way to Shangjing City.

"Listen to me."

Xu Qian detailed how he had narrowly escaped two assassination attempts on the road, sparing no effort.

This time he seemed to have wisened up, not overstating his own heroism, but instead, he emphatically expressed his gratitude for the two small realms the Taoist helped him advance and the life-saving willow leaf he had received.

If Zhao Dabao were here, he would surely sigh that this young brother's EQ and sucking-up skills had improved significantly.

"Young Taoist, please accept another bow from me!"

As he spoke, Xu Qian was about to bow again, however, Jin Xu stopped him.

He still wasn't quite used to people kneeling before him so readily.

"So, what's this about the heavenly prison you mentioned?"

"That issue... I'm quite at a loss myself.

The day I arrived in Shangjing City, I got stopped by the city guards at the gate asking for a token. As you know, I lost everything when I was fleeing for my life, so I couldn't provide any.

I tried to explain, but they wouldn't listen. Luckily, just at the critical moment, the Seventh Princess appeared and stopped them. I thought all was well, but after asking her if you had come to Shangjing City,

the Seventh Prince accused me of looking like a spy and locked me up!"

Xu Qian felt extremely wronged; he had been so respectful, where could he have possibly offended Xia Yunzhao.

After hearing the words of this seventh-grade patrolling officer of Great Xia, the young Taoist too was somewhat flummoxed.

"Emmmm... maybe it was your attitude."

Jin Xu concluded.

Little White, who was drinking an unknown liquid nearby, nodded in agreement.

Yu Yaoer, on the other hand, returned to the kitchen.

Xu Qian felt aggrieved but dared not say anything.

He then continued to flatter the young Taoist, "Since you've come to Shangjing City, Jin Xu, you must need someone to run errands for you. How about I temporarily follow you?"

"...When I go to Shangjing City, I'll definitely have you run errands. The thing is..."

"This isn't Shangjing City."

Little White interjected.

"What?"

Xu Qian was stunned, and he looked around.

He had never been to the back courtyard of Xuanxu Temple, so he had assumed Jin Xu and the others had come to Shangjing City.

As to why he had suddenly appeared here, he hadn't given it much thought.

That Jin Xu was so powerful and had a special relationship with Xia Yunzhao.

He must have known that Xu Qian was locked up, pleaded on his behalf, and then took him out of the heavenly prison while he was sleeping.

Now, he realized the situation might be slightly different from what he had thought.

"Then, where are we?"

"Gusu City."

Jin Xu spoke calmly.

Xu Qian, without realizing, took two steps back and knocked over a bucket nearby, spilling water all over the ground.

"So, I wasn't released from the heavenly prison because you and the Seventh Prince interceded on my behalf?"

"Cough, you were fished over here by me."

"Then, then does that mean I... that means..."

Xu Qian's voice was so tense it was slightly stuttering, as a sense of foreboding washed over him.

"Hmm..."

The young Taoist pondered cautiously for a few seconds.

Little White, who had finished that bowl of unknown liquid, walked over to Xu Qian cheerfully, patted him on the shoulder, and said,

"You've just broken out of jail, big brother!"

"=͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)"