Chapter 196: Chapter 121: Returning to Prison

"Heh heh, a man’s gotta train hard. Haven’t you noticed how I’m always pacing around the prison when I have a spare moment? I’m building up my virility." Cheng Rui chuckled and sauntered out of the prison.

By a strange twist of fate, the guy had successfully cultivated the Red Sun Root Technique. After he became so vigorous, his wife got pregnant, and he subsequently took two concubines, who also conceived.

"Mr. Cheng, we have prisoners," a Prison Guard reported, hurrying over.

"More prisoners?" Cheng Rui frowned. Over the past few months, a large number of refugees and Jianghu figures had arrived in Linji City, and with them, a host of various thieves and bandits.

The Sub-Departments of the various districts in the South City District were constantly arresting criminals and sending them to the Prison, which was already overflowing.

Normally, more prisoners meant more opportunities for the Prison to squeeze them for money, so as the Prison Chief, he should have been pleased.

But most of the recent prisoners were refugees, who arrived without a single cent to their name and had no relatives in Linji City. The Prison couldn’t squeeze any silver coins out of them. Instead, it had to provide them with a thin gruel of coarse chaff and rotten vegetable leaves just to keep them from starving.

Although the expense wasn’t great, it was still a money-losing proposition—not worth it at all.

Whenever he came across such prisoners, Cheng Rui would simply refuse them, letting the City Guard Department handle them on their own.

"Which Sub-Department sent them?"

"Lishui Sub-Department."

’Oh? Prisoners from the Lishui Sub-Department... they should be decent.’

Cheng Rui was inwardly pleased and walked toward the prison entrance with a smile on his face.

When he reached the prison entrance, the smile on his face vanished. One look at the fifteen or sixteen prisoners told him there was no profit to be made here. Feeding this many mouths would cost a considerable amount of silver coins.

"What did these people do?" Cheng Rui asked, his face cold.

Li Sheng cupped his fist in his hand and replied, "Street theft. And they might be connected to a case involving the massacre of an entire household."

Cheng Rui could tell at a glance that these prisoners were nobodies. He sneered inwardly. ’This so-called massacre case is probably just an excuse to dump these prisoners on me. Sending just a few constables to escort them, without so much as a small token of gratitude, and they expect my Prison to just take them? They’re looking down on us.’

"The cells are full. Take them back for now," Cheng Rui said with a serious expression.

Li Sheng said hurriedly, "Our Mr. Chen said to ask you here at the Prison to help with the interrogation."

"Mr. Chen?" Cheng Rui thought for a moment. He didn’t seem to have ever dealt with a Chief Constable named Chen from the Lishui Sub-Department. He grew more impatient. "I don’t care if it’s Mr. Chen or Mr. Li. The South City Prison only holds and interrogates major criminals. You can question these petty thieves yourselves."

By now, Li Sheng could see Cheng Rui was just brushing them off. He straightened his back and said, full of pride, "Our Mr. Chen’s full name is Chen Cheng."

"Chen Cheng?" The corner of Cheng Rui’s eye twitched. "You mean, the Chen Cheng who used to be at the Ruyi Square Sub-Department?"

Li Sheng stood tall with pride. "The very same."

"Oh, so it’s *that* Mr. Chen!" Cheng Rui’s expression immediately changed to a wide smile. He wouldn’t have given a second thought to any other Chief Constable, but Chen Cheng, the youngest Chief Constable in the South City District? His name was legendary, his reputation widespread, and his future was limitless. He was someone one absolutely could not afford to offend.

Although he was the Prison Chief, he was well aware of the political situation in the South City District. The Lord Chief Steward, Shen Qingshuang, had previously been the Chief Constable of the Ruyi District, and Chen Cheng was the one who had made his name in Ruyi District. The implications were self-evident.

He had interrogated Chen Cheng before and feared that Chen Cheng still held a grudge. He had been looking for a way to mend their relationship ever since, but a suitable opportunity had never presented itself.

"And what’s your name, young brother?"

"Li Sheng."

"Ah, Brother Li Sheng, please, come inside! Men! Escort the prisoners into the Prison."

...

When Chen Cheng arrived at the Prison, a few of his men, including Mu Song, were waiting at the entrance with an old Prison Guard.

"Mr. Chen," everyone greeted, cupping their fists.

"No need for formalities." Chen Cheng waved his hand dismissively, then turned to the old Prison Guard. The man looked familiar, but for a moment, he couldn’t place the name.

"Mr. Chen, I’m Zhou Defu," Zhou Defu said, his expression somewhat complicated.

Recognition dawned on Chen Cheng. "Oh, Uncle Zhou. It’s been a while. How have you been?"

Zhou Defu was visibly flattered and hurriedly said, "Mr. Chen, you honor me too much. Please, just call me Old Zhou. Mr. Chen, right this way."

As they walked into the Prison, Zhou Defu quickly filled him in on what had happened. Prison Chief Cheng Rui had learned that Chen Cheng was investigating the household massacre case and was now personally interrogating the prisoners to obtain a confession.

Cheng Rui’s enthusiasm was somewhat of a surprise to Chen Cheng.

As he entered the jail block, he ran into several more familiar Prison Guards, all of whom greeted him with respectful bows.

Prison Chief Cheng Rui was personally administering the punishment. Agonized screams echoed intermittently from the interrogation chamber.

Chen Cheng couldn’t be bothered to watch the interrogation. As he was wondering how to pass the time, he suddenly remembered an old acquaintance, Master Xiu Chen, and immediately headed for the death row block.