Outside the Tenryou Commission's prison, two burly Shogun's Army soldiers stood guard. Even though their shift was nearly over, they did not let their guard down for a single moment.
Ever since the Vision Hunt Decree was implemented, countless individuals with ulterior motives had been eyeing the prison. After all, compared to training new recruits from scratch, the cost of turning the people already locked inside into a fighting force was far lower. If it were not for Kujou Sara's strict security arrangements, the number of prison break attempts would likely have been considerable.
"Those two guards at the gate look pretty serious. Su Bai, are we really going in through the front entrance?"
Paimon floated in the air, staring at the guards who were built significantly larger than the average person and clearly looked like they were not to be messed with. She was already having second thoughts. She was worried that before they could rescue Master Masanori, they would end up getting thrown in themselves.
Yoimiya also felt a bit uneasy. In all her years, this was the first time she had gotten this close to the Tenryou Commission's prison. The last time she had been locked up for setting off fireworks in unauthorized areas, it was only a regular jail. This prison clearly carried a far more oppressive and killing atmosphere than any ordinary detention center.
"Su Bai, is this really okay? I feel like if we take one more step, those two guards are going to draw their blades on us."
Lumine watched the two Shogun's Army soldiers guarding the gate warily. She felt that these two gatekeepers exerted even more pressure on her than the Kairagi she had encountered in the wild. Although she knew Su Bai had a good relationship with the Inazuman general named Kujou Sara, if something unexpected happened, she doubted the few of them would be able to leave here easily.
As it turned out, Lumine's guess was spot on. The moment Su Bai and the others stepped within the prison's perimeter, the two guards immediately placed their hands on the hilts of their swords. This nearly scared Paimon out of her wits, and she shivered before darting behind Lumine.
"Halt. This is a restricted prison area. No unauthorized entry."
A stern voice rang out from within the armor, and the eyes visible through the visor stared fixedly at Su Bai and the others. The posture they took made it clear that one more step forward would result in drawn blades.
"Ahem, have the guards in charge of the Tenryou Commission's prison entrance always been this strict? I remember that a few years back, visitation was still allowed."
Seeing the two guards so tense, Su Bai was not quite used to it. Noticing that Su Bai seemed to know some of the prison's older regulations, the two guards relaxed slightly. One of them even spoke with a hint of resentment.
"Hmph. If it were not for a bunch of rats constantly trying to break those vicious criminals out of prison, the two of us would not be wasting our training time standing guard here."
"Today's training session was personally led by General Kujou Sara. We finally got a rare opportunity to get stronger, and yet today we were assigned to prison watch."
Perhaps because they had finally found someone who understood the rules, the two guards started venting. This left Lumine stunned. Having traveled through Mondstadt and Liyue, she had not anticipated that the situation in Inazuma would be this complicated.
"Forget it, forget it. The more I talk, the angrier I get. What business do you have here? If you have nothing to attend to, you should leave. The prison no longer allows visitation."
Realizing they might have said too much, the two guards waved their hands, signaling for Su Bai and the others to move along. Seeing that these two guards were not dishonest men, Su Bai did not want to make things difficult for them. He pulled out the token Kujou Sara had given him previously and waved it in front of the two guards.
The two guards froze instantly.
Good grief, General Kujou Sara's token? Are you telling me you are someone she sent for an incognito inspection? Then why did not you say so earlier? This is bad. This is really bad.
"You two can rest assured. I have no intention of repeating what you just said. I simply want to go inside and bail someone out. Is that not possible?"
"This... sir, please do not put us in a difficult position. General Kujou Sara has ordered that no one, regardless of their identity, is permitted to take anyone out of this prison. If you truly wish to bail someone out, I am afraid General Kujou herself would need to come here in person."
"However, if you wish to go inside, we can still let you in."
Su Bai frowned. It seemed the situation in Inazuma was worse than he had imagined. Certain noble families must have tried to reach out to the prisoners inside, or else Kujou Sara would not have issued such a strict order.
"Fine. I will not make things difficult for you. I just want to go in and take a look."
Seeing how loyal these two warriors were to the Tenryou Commission, Su Bai did not want to put them in a tough spot. He was confident that once he entered the prison, given his understanding of Kujou Sara, she would receive the report and personally come to see who had the audacity to walk in.
After watching Su Bai and the others enter the prison, the two guards at the gate immediately summoned a Tenryou Commission scout and instructed the scout to relay everything that had happened to Kujou Sara as quickly as possible.
"Brother, who do you think that man with General Kujou Sara's token is? That is General Kujou Sara's personal token. Even the head of the Kujou Clan might not have one."
"How should I know? In any case, this is way above our pay grade. I just hope that if anything goes wrong, they do not come looking for us."
The guard's words made the other one nod repeatedly. No matter who that man was or what his status might be, all they needed to do was carry out the task General Kujou Sara had assigned. Everything else was not their concern.
...
Inside the prison, the Shogun's Army soldiers who had been stationed there for some time were a bit dazed to see Su Bai and the others casually stroll in through the entrance. However, they quickly returned to normal. After all, they were not the ones who let the outsiders in. If anything happened, it would be the gate guards' problem.
"Su Bai, this prison is huge. Maybe we should find someone and ask where Master Masanori is being held."
Yoimiya tugged at Su Bai's sleeve and quietly reminded him. Su Bai shook his head. The people here were far too wary of outsiders to tell them the truth.
"Follow me. I have already sensed Master Masanori's location. However, his condition does not seem to be very good. Lumine, do you still have the healing medicine Baizhu gave you? Master Masanori might need it soon."
"Master Masanori is injured? But when he was captured, he did not have any wounds."
Yoimiya tilted her head in confusion. Could Master Masanori have gotten into a conflict with the other criminals in the prison?
"No. It was torture."
Unlike the innocent Yoimiya, Lumine had already figured out why Master Masanori would be injured. Hearing the word "torture," Yoimiya froze on the spot. This girl, who had little experience with the world and knew almost nothing about the darker side of Inazuma, had never even considered that someone would resort to private punishment.
"Torture... is that not illegal? Why would anyone still use it?"
"Because of profit, of course. I just overheard some of the prison staff talking. Apparently, if they catch an artisan who helps forge fake Visions, they get promoted two ranks and receive a large sum of Mora."
"With such a massive incentive, let alone torture. Out there, it would not even be surprising for comrades to turn on each other."
Su Bai glanced at Yoimiya. To be honest, he really did not want someone as pure as Yoimiya to come into contact with the darker side of the world. But rather than letting her see Master Masanori's condition unprepared, it was better to give her a heads-up so she could brace herself.