After settling Zhang Munian’s affair, Wang Chong passed several hundred thousand gold taels to Cousin Wang Liang for the building of the fleet and the hiring of required personnel for the journey such as guards and sailors.
Due to his contract with the Zhang Clan, Wang Chong was still able to bear this kind of heavy expenditure.
“Alright, it should be about time for me to head to the royal palace to take a look.”
Wang Chong sighed as he boarded the carriage and headed for the royal palace. At the entrance, an Imperial Army guard was already waiting for him.
“Follow me!”
Without any hesitation, the Imperial Army guard led Wang Chong through the complex labyrinth of the palace. After what seemed like countless twists and turns, an underground opening appeared before Wang Chong.
In front of the opening were just two words:
“Death Prison!”
The two words were barely legible as much of the paint had worn off due to age. Twelve well-built Chamberlains of Imperial Insignia stood guard around the entrance as though demons guarding the gateway to hell.
This was the death prison!
In the royal court, there were a total of two prisons, the ‘imperial prison’ and the ‘death prison’. The most heinous of criminals who were sentenced to capital punishment were locked in the imperial prison as they awaited their deaths.
The possibility of leaving the imperial prison alive was next to zero.
On the other hand, the death prison was for those who were sentenced with lighter verdicts. Wang Chong’s second brother, Wang Bei, was locked in the death prison!
An ominous wind blew as Wang Chong looked out through the windows of the carriage. Glancing at the twelve dark-armored Chamberlains of Imperial Insignia guarding the entrance, he sighed deeply.
The Wang Family had a total of four siblings, and the one whom Wang Chong was closest with wasn’t Big Brother Wang Fu nor Little Sister Wang Xiao Yao. On the contrary, it was actually Second Brother Wang Bei.
Big Brother Wang Fu was much older than him, and he had joined the army not too long after Wang Chong was born. The one who had accompanied Wang Chong during his growing phase was Second Brother Wang Bei.
However, as time passed, their relationship slowly drifted apart. This was one of the deepest regrets in Wang Chong’s heart.
Wang Chong knew the reason for it but his helplessness only served to deepen his regrets.
Wang Chong was about to join the Kunwu Training Camp, and he had to name a single person whom he wanted to meet the most before his enlistment, it would have to be Second Brother Wang Bei.
“Open the gates!”
Wang Chong stepped down from the carriage and flashed a token before the twelve Chamberlains of Imperial Insignia guarding the entrance. This was the token King Song had given him just a moment ago.
With this token, Wang Chong gained the privilege to travel to most locations within the royal palace.
Hong long long!
Upon seeing the token Wang Chong was holding, one of the cold-faced Chamberlains of Imperial Insignia stepped forward and slowly opened the gates.
Weng!
Frigid air immediately gushed out from beyond the gates. Then, a black and cold mist slowly drifted into appearance from beneath. Wang Chong frowned slightly before stepping into the passageway.
The passageway was exceptionally quiet, resulting in Wang Chong’s footsteps echoing loudly.
Finally, in a unique cell, Wang Chong met his second brother.
It was a specially-crafted cell which was much wider than the others in the death prison. Every single cell bar was a bowl thick, and they were forged with the resilient deep ocean metal and inscribed for resilience.
At the very center of the cell sat a motionless, thin figure. His hair was unkempt and his eyes sunk into his sockets. His four limbs and waist was shackled with five thick chains which intersected intricately as though a spider web, locking him firmly.
This was his second brother, Wang Bei.
If not for witnessing it himself, Wang Chong would have never believed that that haughty second brother of his could be reduced to such a state.
“Second brother, I’m here. I’m sorry for only coming to see you now.”
Seeing the unkempt, tortured, corpse-like figure within the cell, Wang Chong’s heart sunk.
This wasn’t how his second brother should be.
This damp and dark cell wasn’t the world he should be in.
The cell was completely quiet—other than Wang Chong’s voice, there was no other sound to be heard. The figure within the cell remained motionless, as though there was nothing in the world that could reach him.
“Second brother, all of us miss you. Big brother misses you, little sister misses you, mother and I miss you as well. Come out, second brother, you don’t belong in there!”
Wang Chong sighed.
The death prison was where criminals were held. However, Wang Chong knew that the situation surrounding his second brother was slightly different from the other prisoners.
That was because his second brother had chosen to impose this incarceration upon himself.
All of the Wang Clan members who were afflicted with the ‘Berserker Syndrome’ had the option of locking themselves up in the death prison. This was the magnanimity that the Sage Emperor granted grandfather back then.
Grandfather had specially requested for this expensive cell to be built in return for his contributions in assisting the Sage Emperor to the throne.
In this generation, Second Brother Wang Bei was the one who ended up being afflicted by the ‘Berserker Syndrome’. As such, he had chosen to be incarcerated out of his own free will, and no one could deny him of his freedom.
The cell remained completely silent and there wasn’t a sound to be heard. Wang Chong sighed and continued.
“… Second brother, if you’re doing this because of the eldest son of Duke of Zheng, then there’s no need for that. He has already recovered from the injuries from back then!”
“Do you think that I’m doing this because of Marquess Zheng?”
A cold voice suddenly sounded from the prison, interrupting Wang Chong’s words. At some point, Wang Bei had lifted his head, and he stared at Wang Chong coldly with crimson eyes.
“Second brother!”
Wang Chong was taken aback for a moment before delight gushed within him, “You’re finally willing to speak to me.”
“Do you really think I’m doing this to myself because of him?”
Wang Bei disregarded Wang Chong’s words and continued staring at him coldly.
“Get out! Get out now! I don’t need you to visit me, I don’t need anyone to visit me! Get out! ——”
As he shouted his last word, a powerful gale enveloped the entire death prison. Even with Wang Chong’s Origin Energy Tier 7 cultivation realm coupled with his Might of the Barbaric God and Dragon Bone, he was still forced back.
Even though Second Brother Wang Bei would lose his rationality whenever the Berserker Syndrome activated, that didn’t hinder him from becoming one of the top experts within the capital.
The gale faded as swiftly as it arrived.
In just a short moment, tranquility returned to the death prison.
“Second brother, if it isn’t because of Marquess Zheng, why do you refuse to go out?”
As though the silent mutterings of the wind, his voice echoed faintly in the passageway.