"HOW DARE YOU KEEP ME HERE?! I AM THE CROWN PRINCE! I COMMAND YOU TO RELEASE ME AT ONCE!"
Although Crown Prince Li LongYi continued shouting furiously, ManQi had already given strict instructions to the jailers and guards to ignore every word he said.
At last, they had a chance to bring this useless, perverted Crown Prince to justice.
For years, they had tried to uncover his crimes but had always failed. This time, however, they had finally caught him red-handed.
ManQi couldn't help thinking:
Perhaps Young Madam really does bring good luck to Master... Still, we must remain on our guard.
Among the jailers was a young man who looked particularly nervous after hearing ManQi's instructions.
"Little Jiao..."
ManQi called out to him.
Little Jiao was indeed the youngest jailer in the Justice Office, although his build was just as large as the other guards.
"Don't worry. I'll stay here tonight to guard the prison. You can all take turns resting later," ManQi assured him.
"I... I need to get a drink first..."
Little Jiao reached for a cup, but his movements were clumsy. He accidentally stumbled, spilling all the water over ManQi's clothes.
"I... I'm sorry, Brother ManQi! I... I..."
The other jailers immediately scolded him.
"Look what you've done, Little Jiao!"
"Such a clumsy boy!"
Seeing how regretful Little Jiao looked, ManQi raised a hand to stop the others.
"That's enough. Don't be angry with him. It's only water."
"I'm really sorry..." Little Jiao repeated.
One of the guards looked at ManQi's wet clothes.
"Brother ManQi, your clothes are soaked. Perhaps you should change first?"
ManQi initially thought there was no need. However, seeing Little Jiao's apologetic expression made him reconsider.
The young man had always been like a little brother to him. Besides, changing clothes wouldn't take long.
"All right. I'll change first. The rest of you, stay at your posts and guard this place carefully."
Everyone immediately returned to their assigned positions, leaving Little Jiao alone inside the prison to watch over the Crown Prince.
"As punishment for spilling water on our captain, you'll have to guard that crazy man alone, Little Jiao!"
"What?! You can't leave me here alone!"
Little Jiao looked terrified, which only encouraged the other two guards to tease him.
"Don't be such a coward! We'll be right outside. Nobody can get in without passing us first."
"Besides, that mad prince is actually harmless. All he can do is shout!"
And with that, they really did leave him alone.
Not long afterward...
"DON'T THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, I'LL KILL YOU, LI ZHOUWEI!"
The Crown Prince continued shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Don't waste your voice, Your Highness..."
Suddenly, Little Jiao approached his cell.
But something about him had changed.
He no longer looked nervous or afraid of the Crown Prince. Instead, a strange smile appeared on his face.
"You... How dare you insult me! You little—"
Before the Crown Prince could finish, Little Jiao took out a metal pendant.
The moment he saw it, Crown Prince LongYi's expression changed.
"So... he finally sent you! Now get me out of here immediately!"
Little Jiao sighed.
"Yeah, sure. We don't have much time anyway. But look at this first."
He held out his palm.
The Crown Prince stared at it in confusion.
"Huh?"
Before he could ask anything, Little Jiao suddenly blew a small amount of powder into his face.
Within moments, the Crown Prince collapsed.
Thud!
"Ah... What a useless fellow. If YiFu hadn't ordered me to bring you out, it would be much better if I killed you right now. At least I'd be doing the world a favor..."
With a few swift movements, Little Jiao began altering the Crown Prince's appearance until his face looked like that of one of the guards.
He seemed to be an expert in disguise, completing the transformation without difficulty.
Then he deliberately acted panicked and rushed out of the cell.
"T-The Crown Prince has fainted! I don't know why...!"
The guards stationed outside immediately reacted.
"Let's check!"
They hurried inside, while Little Jiao watched them with a strange smile.
Not far away, ManQi was on his way to change his clothes.
However, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something was wrong. Halfway there, he decided to turn back.
When he reached the prison entrance, he immediately noticed that none of the guards were at their posts.
His instincts warned him that something was terribly wrong.
Just then, he saw Little Jiao coming out, carrying an unconscious guard.
ManQi rushed toward him.
"What happened?!"
Little Jiao hadn't expected ManQi to return so quickly. His sudden appearance had disrupted the plan.
Nevertheless, he quickly put on an innocent expression.
"Brother ManQi! The Crown Prince has escaped! He attacked the others and wounded them! I was trying to bring this brother to the infirmary, but there's still another unconscious guard inside!"
ManQi reacted immediately.
He needed to check on the others.
"All right. You take him there first. I'll check inside!"
He was about to move when something suddenly made him stop.
"Wait!"
Little Jiao froze.
ManQi turned back and looked at him suspiciously.
"Why aren't you injured?"
"What do you mean, Brother ManQi? You should hurry and help the others inside!"
"I'll ask you again. How is it that you're the only one who came out unharmed?"
Little Jiao realized his disguise had been exposed.
His expression immediately changed.
"Tsk... No wonder YiFu warned me about you. You're too sharp! You're no fun at all!"
Without warning, he threw several small throwing knives toward ManQi.
ManQi easily dodged them.
Taking advantage of that brief opening, Little Jiao turned and fled.
Although he was carrying an unconscious guard, he moved with surprising speed and showed no difficulty handling the extra weight.
His martial arts skills were clearly impressive.
ManQi immediately chased after him.
The pursuit continued across rooftops and through narrow streets until ManQi finally managed to corner him among a cluster of houses.
They drew their swords and began fighting fiercely.
In the middle of their exchange, ManQi shouted:
"YOU'RE NOT LITTLE JIAO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"
"Ah, that naive fellow? Well, you can look for his body somewhere in your prison. If you find it, send my regards to his grave for letting me borrow his face!"
The impostor laughed.
"I quite like this one, actually!"
ManQi felt a surge of rage.
This man was a cold-blooded killer. He couldn't let him escape!
But something was wrong.
ManQi hadn't noticed when it happened, but he suddenly began feeling weak and dizzy.
Poison!
He realized that the impostor must have poisoned him during their fight.
His knees weakened, and he finally dropped to one knee, struggling to remain conscious.
"Oh? The poison is finally taking effect. I see our playtime is over."
The impostor lowered his sword slightly.
"You're a good fighter, ManQi. Hmm... Let's have another duel next time, shall we? That is, if you survive... Hahaha!"
Despite his weakening body, ManQi forced himself to launch another attack.
His sudden movement caught the impostor off guard. As the man dodged, ManQi's blade sliced through the sleeve of his left arm.
The torn fabric revealed a tattoo.
A green snake.
ManQi managed to catch a clear glimpse of it.
The impostor's expression darkened. Annoyed by the unexpected counterattack, he retaliated with several vicious sword strikes.
In an instant, ManQi was covered in blood.
The impostor was also wounded, his clothes stained with blood from the exchange.
"Look what you've done! Damn it! You've covered me in blood!"
He looked down at his clothes in disgust.
"I hate the smell of blood! Aah... I don't want to fight anymore. I need to take a bath!"
And just like that, the impostor picked up the unconscious guard and left, abandoning ManQi where he lay.
ManQi struggled to keep his eyes open.
His vision blurred, his body grew heavier, and the last thing he could do was fight to remain conscious as the poison continued spreading through his body.