Eternal Life: I Rely on Fortune Points for Improvement-Chapter 144 - 128: Lord Jiang (Part 2)

A night passed.

Jiang Feng got up early to check the panel information.

He found that his Fortune Point hadn’t changed much.

Last night, Willow Alley was calm and uneventful, and he, the Little Prison Chief, seemed to have been ignored again.

That makes sense.

Now all the focus is on the Imperial City, Han Dong and Bao Longwei, and those rebel spies—who would bother paying attention to a Little Prison Chief like him? Even the Second Prince and the Seventh Prince would be focused on making sure their men aren’t implicated with the rebel spies, lest their prospects be affected.

After a while, Jiang Feng met Uncle Huo at the mouth of Willow Alley. The two walked together to Zhenbei Prison.

They entered the third level.

Jiang Feng’s arrival immediately drew people’s attention.

"Prison Chief Jiang, you’re back!"

Chief Wang, Chief Ma, Chief Feng, and several others were all delighted to see Jiang Feng. Just like Uncle Huo, they’d heard Jiang Feng had gone out of town with Han Dong on business, and serving under him felt like a badge of honor.

"I just came back yesterday. Is everyone doing alright?"

Jiang Feng said with a smile.

"Thanks to you, brother, everyone is doing great, and things have been running smoothly. But starting from the night before, a lot of new inmates have been brought to the third level; every day more people are sent in, so we’ve got our hands full."

Chief Wang said cheerfully.

"Good. Have everyone stay sharp and remember the Four Prohibitions—no one is allowed to stir up trouble!"

Jiang Feng’s smile suddenly vanished; his face grew stern.

"Yes!"

The Chiefs responded in unison.

The few of them shivered slightly, realizing Jiang Feng was just as strict as ever. Joking around while on duty with him would never end well.

This was Jiang Feng’s only option.

Right now, rumors were flying all over the prison that he’d gone out of town with Han Dong. Now Han Dong and Bao Longwei were in the Imperial City, summoned by the Emperor. Everyone was speculating wildly, thinking he was about to make it big.

Jiang Feng needed to put an end to this.

And explain it clearly to everyone.

He hadn’t gone out of town on business with Han Dong.

He knew

Someone was bound to ask about him and Han Dong disappearing together.

"Prison Chief Jiang, Chief Hu wants to see you."

Soon after, Mao Daming came calling.

As Captain,

Mao Daming, compared to Jiang Feng, felt himself a bit lower on the ladder and was very polite.

It wasn’t just because he knew from the start that Han Dong was on good terms with Jiang Feng, and the rumor said Han Dong treated Jiang Feng like a brother; he’d also recently learned from other rumors that Jiang Feng and Han Dong had gone out of town on business together, Han Dong was about to get a major reward, and surely Jiang Feng would benefit as well.

So facing Jiang Feng,

Mao Daming was even more cordial than before.

It was as if Jiang Feng was his superior.

"Really! I’ll come with you right away."

Jiang Feng looked surprised, though he knew exactly what was coming.

He and Han Dong both knew Chief Hu was a man of the Second Prince, working for him; if Chief Hu was calling, it was likely the Second Prince wanted something.

Soon, Jiang Feng and Mao Daming arrived at Chief Hu’s office.

"Ah, Prison Chief Jiang, you’re back—please, have a seat."

On seeing Jiang Feng, Chief Hu actually stood up to greet him.

"Lord Hu, I wouldn’t dare; may I ask what you needed me for?"

Jiang Feng was flattered, respectfully asking.

"Hahaha, forget the ’lord’—if you don’t mind, just call me Brother Hu from now on. If I need help down the road, I expect to rely on my virtuous younger brother."

Chief Hu slung an arm over Jiang Feng’s shoulder, indicating for him to sit by his side.

"This... my lord, I dare not. If you need anything, just command me—I’d lay down my life to get it done!"

Jiang Feng didn’t dare sit, hurriedly standing up.

"See, acting like that, you’re treating me like an outsider. Don’t tell me now that you and Grand Commander Han have made a great contribution and received honors, you’re going to ignore all us brothers?"

Chief Hu feigned indignation.

"Lord Jiang, we’ll need your support in the future."

Mao Daming said flattering, all smiles.

"Captain Mao, I’m just the Little Prison Chief, hardly worthy of ’lord.’ You flatter me too much."

Jiang Feng looked utterly humbled.

"Brother Jiang, no need to keep hiding it from us. The whole Zhenbei Prison knows you’ve gone out of town with Grand Commander Han, and now Grand Commander Han and Lord Director of the Prison are in the Imperial City reporting to His Majesty. In a few days, they, along with Brother Jiang, are all going to be promoted—several ranks at once. Everybody knows it."

Chief Hu explained.

After he spoke, he eyed Jiang Feng with envy.

"I don’t understand why you all say that. It’s true I went out of town with Grand Commander Han, but we didn’t work together at all. Even if Grand Commander Han is rewarded, how could that be related to me?"

Jiang Feng asked, confused.

"Heh, the word from above is that Grand Commander Han and Lord Director of the Prison teamed up to take down an entire nest of rebels. His Majesty is highly pleased. You mean to say you weren’t involved?"

Chief Hu lowered his voice, watching for any change in Jiang Feng’s face.

"What? Is that so? That day I was taken hostage and Grand Commander Han came to rescue me. Afterward, she took me out of town and told me to just ride a horse out into the countryside and stay away from Dragon Capital for a while. I did as she said and only got back yesterday. I honestly have no idea what happened during all that time." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Jiang Feng looked genuinely surprised and sincere.

"So you didn’t stay with Grand Commander Han after you left the city?"

Chief Hu sounded incredulous.

"No. We split up as soon as we left town. I even wondered at the time why Grand Commander Han just left me behind. Now that you say all this, Lord Hu, I finally get it—catching rebel spies is way above my pay grade as a Little Prison Chief!"

Jiang Feng acted slow to realize, as if everything had just clicked.

"Well..."

Chief Hu and Mao Daming exchanged glances, both thinking that Jiang Feng really didn’t seem to be lying.

"Lord Hu, you said Grand Commander Han and Lord Director of the Prison will be honored by His Majesty. Will... will I truly get a share?"

Jiang Feng tried asking.

He looked eager, his eyes hungry, staring at Chief Hu.

"Hmph, you’re only a Little Prison Chief—what do rewards have to do with you?"

Chief Hu sneered.

Convinced Jiang Feng wasn’t involved, he seemed to become an entirely different person.

Standing aside, Mao Daming was no longer so deferential, though he still smiled and said, "Prison Chief Jiang, whatever the case, we all see how close you and Grand Commander Han are. Now that she’s being promoted, she’ll surely look after you. So just sit tight and wait for good news!"

"Captain Mao is right. You can go now."

Chief Hu quickly switched back to a smiling face, thinking Han Dong has always looked out for Jiang Feng, and with how things work in Zhenbei Prison, no need to cause trouble for Jiang Feng over nothing.

"Understood, I’ll take my leave."

Jiang Feng got up to go.

On his way out, he muttered, "So Sister Dong really made a big achievement. That’s wonderful—no one in Zhenbei Prison will dare bully me again."

"Escort him, and make sure he doesn’t overthink things."

Chief Hu caught wind of Jiang Feng’s little scheme and hastily motioned Mao Daming.

"Prison Chief Jiang, free tonight? How about a drink with the brothers at Sun and Moon Building—my treat."

Mao Daming didn’t miss a chance to curry favor with Jiang Feng.

"Another day! I’d better see when Grand Commander Han will come back."

Jiang Feng still played the part of someone longing for a reward.

Mao Daming saw right through him, congratulated him a bit more, though inside, he was burning with jealousy.

Back in his office,

Jiang Feng flipped through the list of new inmates who’d arrived recently. He read every detail he was authorized to see. After going through everything, he took Chief Wang and the others for a patrol around the third level.

And at that very moment,

Han Dong finally left the Imperial City.

Xiao Ran had forcibly brought her back to Dragon Capital, but as soon as she entered the city gates, people from the Imperial City invited her right back in. Two days and a night later, after reporting to Lord Director of the Prison, she finally found time to return to Zhenbei Prison.

At the entrance, Han Dong took a deep breath.

She summoned her courage and headed for the third level.

She’d been worried the whole time about Jiang Feng.

Wondering whether Jiang Feng had survived.

She knew that if Jiang Feng had made it out,

he’d almost certainly be back at Zhenbei Prison by now. If he wasn’t back—that could only mean... bad news.

She was truly afraid she wouldn’t find Jiang Feng inside.

And as she entered Zhenbei Prison, Xiao Ran came along as well; just like Han Dong, he’d been hauled straight into the Imperial City on returning to town, and now out together, he too wanted to see whether Jiang Feng was dead or alive.