This was because when one stood in this cluster of palace and looked out, what they saw wasn't the county capital but nothingness.
In this nothingness, only this cluster of palaces existed.
At that moment, there were three people in the white palace.
Two were sitting opposite each other and playing chess, while one stood in the middle and stared at the chessboard.
The person playing chess was none other than the Sword Holding Palace Master. Facing him was a middle-aged scholar in a brocade robe.
This person's face was fair and there was a hint of gentleness to it. Right now, he was smiling as he picked up a black chess piece and placed it on the chessboard. He even used his finger to poke the chess piece.
"Palace Master, your contributions are too great. If you aren't careful, you'll become an overbearing dragon that flies to the horizon without being able to return."
"Something was said quite correctly in the Sword Holding Palace just now." The Palace Master looked at the chessboard and calmly spoke.
"What?" The brocade-robed scholar asked with a smile.
"Marquis, you f*cking b*stard!" The Palace Master was expressionless as he looked up at the brocade-robed scholar coldly.
This brocade-robed scholar was none other than the head of the Yao family, the current generation's Marquis Yao.
He didn't seem angry when he heard this. Instead, he laughed. After that, he stood up and cupped his fists and bowed to the person who was watching them play chess.
"County Governor, the chess game has been decided. There's no need to continue. The visit of the Holy Wave Race is a friendly visit. I'll take my leave first and go receive them."
With that, Marquis Yao left. His back view looked a little bleak in the darkness, revealing a hint of loneliness.
The person watching the chess game was an old man in a long hemp robe. He looked ordinary and his expression was gentle. There was no pressure or aura at all. When he heard this, he smiled and nodded.
He was the county governor of Fenghai County.
"County Governor, I still don't trust him." Looking at the departing Marquis Yao, the Palace Master calmly spoke.
"Brother Liangxiu." The county governor smiled and sat opposite the Palace Master. As he cleared the chessboard, he spoke softly.
"I know that you deliberately displayed the aura of an arrogant dragon in the chess game just now to remind Yao Tianyan not to let the fake show come true and ultimately become an arrogant dragon."
"However, you prefer resolute and aggressive measures, while Brother Tianyan prefers to make alliances. Both of you have set up a situation where you are like water and fire, which was originally a top-secret plan that the three of us jointly formulated."
"All these years, outsiders have been cursing the Yao family, calling them shameless, brainless, and traitors. Cursing them for intermarrying with a foreign race, calling them arrogant, and saying that the entire family is inferior to pigs and dogs."
"The number of people in the Yao family who know of this plan can be counted on one hand, and they can't even mention any of this. They can only endure all of this bitterly. Yao Tianyan… this flirtatious scholar who was famous in the Grand Imperial Capital Region back then and an outstanding heaven's chosen was willing to bear the infamy. He has suffered more than you."
"Everything is because of my incompetence, because my Fenghai County is unstable, because our human race is in decline. We have no choice but to put on such a show."
The Sword Holding Palace Master fell silent. After a long time, he looked into the distance and spoke in a low voice.
"County Governor, you don't have to undervalue yourself. If it wasn't for your painstaking management, Fenghai County would have long been devoured by the Holy Wave."
"I understand what you're saying. I also know that it's harder for him than me and I know his sacrifice better. However, I'm worried that some people in the Yao family will really become a group of arrogant dragons."
"Even if the leader has the human race in his heart, he can't turn back. He has no choice but to forget his original intention, just like the former Grand Duke Holy Wave."
The County Governor fell silent. After a long time, he spoke softly.
"Even you, who knows, have doubts. This means that he's not far from completely deceiving the Holy Wave Race."
At that moment, dusk had passed and the sky was dark. Fortunately, the bright moon was hanging and the moonlight shone on the human world, landing outside the deep pit of the Prison Department.
After escorting Xu Qing and the others here, Deacon Sima left.
Kong Xianglong looked at the familiar Prison Department and let out a long sigh. Shan He and the others were also dejected. Only Xu Qing walked in front and greeted a few Pawns who had come to receive them. He watched as they put shackles on Shan He and the others with cold expressions.
However, he… didn't have any.
In fact, a familiar Pawn even gave Xu Qing a shackle.
Hence, Xu Qing personally put the shackle on Kong Xianglong.
"As expected, it's different…" Kong Xianglong and the others watched this scene. They noticed that when these Pawns spoke to Xu Qing, they would have smiles on their faces, as though they were on the same side.
However, to them, they were expressionless.
Hence, everyone revealed looks of envy.
Old Li was also among the Pawns. After he glanced at Kong Xianglong and the others, he spoke to Xu Qing in a low voice.
"I heard about what happened outside the Discipline Hall today. Let's go. Your cell is ready."
As Old Li spoke, he winked at Xu Qing and led the way.
Just like that, Xu Qing and the others escorted Kong Xianglong and the other three into the Prison Department.
They walked all the way to Area D10. The moment he pushed open the cell gate, Xu Qing saw the layout inside and smiled.
Although Area D10 was still a prison cell, there were a total of 30 jars of wine inside. There were also many foods that could only be bought with spirit stones outside.
There were even five specially repaired cages that contained futons needed for meditation.
Although it was still simple, it was much better than those prisoners.
When Kong Xianglong and the others saw this, they perked up and looked at the cold-faced Pawns.
"We heard about what happened to you. You were punished and imprisoned. As Pawns, we naturally have to monitor you. However, as Sword Holders, everyone thinks that you did a good job!"
"Treat this like your own home and take it as a break for this month. If you need anything, tell Xu Qing. Xu Qing, your D132 can't be left unguarded. You can open the cell yourself too. Don't forget to report for duty later."
After saying that, Old Li and the others looked at Xu Qing and the others with solemn expressions.
"Lastly, we'll say it again. You guys did a good job killing them!" After saying that, all the Pawns here took out their command swords in unison and performed a Sword Holder salute to Xu Qing and the others.
After the ceremony, the Pawns turned and left.
Area D10 immediately fell silent.
Xu Qing silently walked to the wine jars. With a wave of his hand, four jars flew toward Kong Xianglong and the others. After each of them caught one, everyone looked at each other and laughed.
"Bottoms up!" Kong Xianglong's laughter grew louder and louder as he took a big swig.
Xu Qing also smiled and took a big swig.
After that, he helped everyone remove the shackles on their bodies. They were only symbolic outside, and were unnecessary here.
Just like that, time flowed by. It was as though these five had returned to the time when they were lying on the plains happily after killing the black-clothed guards of the Holy Wave Race. Moreover, they were no strangers to each other now, so they had many topics to talk about.
Shan He and Wang Chen often bickered.
On the other hand, Night Spirit accompanied Kong Xianglong every day. Even a blind person could sense that she liked Kong Xianglong.
As for Xu Qing, he would occasionally walk out of the cell and make a trip to D132.
Other than the fact that he couldn't leave the Prison Department or do missions, everything was no different from his usual routine.
Every time Xu Qing left Area D10, he would do it calmly. As D132's guardian, he couldn't ignore D132. That would be dereliction of duty.
Xu Qing felt that he absolutely couldn't do something like that.
Time flowed by and half a month passed.
Mortals might be extremely bored after they were imprisoned for half a month, but to cultivators, their single seclusion might last longer than this time. This was especially so when there was wine and meat. They even had friends to chat and laugh with. Hence, their lives were quite comfortable.
On this day, Xu Qing returned from his shift. As soon as he stepped into Area D10, he felt that something was amiss.
Today, Area D10 was too quiet.