"Death row..."

Su Xuan's brow furrowed, his mood inevitably growing heavy.

He shifted his gaze from the world outside the cell and sat on a damp wooden plank bed.

"Brother, who did you kill with your mount?" the inmate in the corner couldn't help but ask.

According to the rules of Hua Shui City, accidentally killing someone with a mount didn't warrant the death penalty.

So how did Su Xuan end up on death row just like him?

"An old man," Su Xuan said. "He accidentally ran into my mount and died."

Despite his words, he didn't believe the recent event was an accident. It was very likely intentional.

This wasn't wild speculation. He had a basis for his suspicion.

His own cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of Heaven Severing, making him extremely sensitive to the auras of others. Moreover, his eyes had mutated. He clearly sensed that the old man wasn't dead at all, not even injured!

Furthermore, that old man was no ordinary senior. His cultivation was at least at the Great Perfection of Heaven Severing! Only an expert of that level could deliberately stage such a convincing "accidental" death!

What else could this be but a premeditated plot?

Who exactly wants to harm me? This was the question that mattered most to him.

He had just arrived in Hua Shui City and didn't know many people. The young lady from the Su Family, Ge Yuzhe from the Ge Family, as well as the Third Elder of the Jiuding Sect and Xiaoyun, all had motives.

As for the first two, it went without saying; he'd almost come to blows with them. The latter group might also covet his Golden Scale Crocodile. However, they had hardly any time to plan anything. The incident occurred shortly after he left the Jiuding Sect, so they could be ruled out.

That left the Su Family's young lady and Ge Yuzhe.

It must be that young master from the Ge Family!

Su Xuan pursed his lips and rubbed his temples.

He immediately shouted toward the outside of the cell, "Who's in charge here? I want to see him!"

He wanted to meet the highest authority to see if he could find a "legitimate" way to leave. If not, he would have to choose the right moment to fight his way out.

This small place could hardly contain him. After all, he just had to summon his Golden Scale Crocodile to turn the prison upside down. Those guards never should have tethered the beast here. Was a Golden Scale Crocodile something that could be so easily bound?

There was another reason he had cooperated so willingly. He believed the mastermind would come to see him—and he was sure it was Ge Yuzhe. He knew such people all too well. After successfully framing him, Ge Yuzhe would certainly come to gloat and show off his triumph.

When the time comes to use force, I'll take care of Ge Yuzhe as well! That was the moment he was waiting for.

But no one paid him any mind.

"Brother, this is death row," the man in the corner spoke up again. "Even if you shout yourself hoarse, no one will answer. You'd better save your energy."

"What did you do?"

Su Xuan didn't look like a man condemned to death; his expression was very calm.

"I killed a man!"

At this, the man's eyes lit up. He raised a hand and said, "I have a daughter, just a teenager. Last month, some hooligan tried to molest her, so I beat him to death. Haha, I beat him so hard his eyeballs popped out!"

"A just kill," Su Xuan said.

"A just kill!" the man repeated, then added, "I don't regret it. For my girl's honor, I don't regret it one bit!"

"Here."

Su Xuan flicked his hand, tossing a medicinal pill to the man.

The pill rolled to a stop in front of the man, who stared at it, stunned. He looked up at Su Xuan and asked, "They didn't search you? How did you bring a pill in here?"

Su Xuan didn't answer.

The guards had been too afraid he would escape on his Golden Scale Crocodile to even touch him, let alone search him. Their only goal was to get him into a death row cell and complete the task given to them by the mastermind!

"Thank you!"

The man then picked up the pill and swallowed it.

But even after swallowing the pill, his complexion didn't improve. He still looked as if he were on death's door.

"I'm to be executed tomorrow."

A moment later, the man sighed, his voice full of despair. "I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid that after I'm gone, there will be no one to take care of my daughter. *Sigh*... *sigh*... *sigh*..."

Su Xuan remained silent.

If I really have to cause a scene here, I might as well help this poor fellow escape with me.

But things hadn't reached that point yet, so he naturally kept the thought to himself.

Time ticked by.

The inmate seemed to feel a kinship with Su Xuan, as he was also on death row, and was grateful for the pill. He chatted with Su Xuan for a long time, talking about when his wife died, how he raised his daughter single-handedly, and how his daughter had learned excellent needlework and become an acclaimed young seamstress.

"Have you heard of Zhen Tai Garments?"

When speaking of his daughter's work, a light returned to the man's eyes. "Because my daughter is so clever and skilled, she makes exquisite clothes. She was recruited by Zhen Tai Garments! Zhen Tai Garments is owned by the Ge Family and has a monopoly on the entire Hua Shui City. Who hasn't bought clothes from there?"

"The Ge Family?" Su Xuan narrowed his eyes. "When was your daughter recruited by them?"

"It was last month, right after I was locked up in here," the man said. "My daughter told me herself when she came to visit. They don't normally allow visitors on death row, but she said Master Ge Yuzhe of the Ge Family helped her by pulling some strings."

"Your daughter is very beautiful, isn't she?" Su Xuan asked.

"Haha, beautiful? She's beyond beautiful!" The man gesticulated wildly. "All the neighbors say she's like a little fairy who descended to the mortal world! They say when she grows up, she's destined to marry into a great family!"

Su Xuan fell silent again.

This poor man was tricked by Ge Yuzhe, just like me. And we ended up in the same cell... is that really a coincidence?

「By evening,」

The answer arrived.

"Well, well, if it isn't the elegant Master Su Xuan, rider of the Golden Scale Mount!"

Led by a guard, Ge Yuzhe appeared outside Su Xuan's cell.

He must have learned Su Xuan's name from the Money Exchange Shopkeeper, as Su Xuan had to sign when he exchanged his Moon Profound Stones.

"You can go about your business."

Seeing Su Xuan ignore him, Ge Yuzhe slipped the guard a small-denomination Profound Note, dismissing him. He then leered at Su Xuan. "So you ran someone over and killed them on the street? How unlucky for you!"

Su Xuan stared at Ge Yuzhe's face and said quietly, "This was your doing, wasn't it?"

"Clever boy, really clever!" Ge Yuzhe gave Su Xuan a thumbs-up, admitting to it without a shred of shame. "You made me lose face in front of my cousin. Who else would I come after but you? Tell me, how are you feeling right now? Do you hate me? Do you wish you could just break out of this cell and strangle me?"

"No," Su Xuan shrugged.

"Why not?" Ge Yuzhe was visibly angered by Su Xuan's calm expression. "I hired that old man. He didn't die. He's already taken the money and left Hua Shui City! There's no one to prove your innocence. You're going to die! Why aren't you angry?"

"Would you get angry at a rabid dog that bites anyone it sees?" Su Xuan countered.

"No," Ge Yuzhe said, his face darkening.

"Neither would I," Su Xuan said. "I'd just kill the dog."

Ge Yuzhe said coldly, "You won't have the chance!"

Su Xuan replied, "I will."

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