94 Prison (1/2)
Xue Wei looked around the prison cell he had been given. It was almost completely barren. A bit of old hay that smelled as if it had started to rot was laying on the hard ground.
The entire prison was filled with criminals and deserters, yet the Fierce Beasts were held elsewhere.
”So they group me with the humans,” Xue Wei muttered with a wry smile. It seemed more and more likely that someone had started a conspiracy against his uncle rather than actually expecting him to be a Primordial Beast.
Xue Wei found a place on the ground with no hay and sat down. He had still not given up on surviving. He knew that his chances were slim, but he did not want to go down without a fight.
Xue Wei spread his spiritual energy far and wide to grasp the prison's structural composition. The cell he had been placed in was clearly made for Earth Warriors with a low amount of Spiritual Energy, because his senses easily penetrated the cell's mechanisms against the use of Spiritual Energy and started roaming the prison.
He found that there were around a hundred prisoners within the range of his senses, and all of them were quiet and in the middle of cultivation.
There were three guards that patrolled the area. They were Earth Warriors of the seventh layer. Their strength was not overwhelming by any means, because the prison overseers and the guards themselves were certain that no one would be able to escape the heavily armed doors.
Xue Wei snickered when he noticed this and started to feel as if he might have a chance anyway.
He located the first one of the guards and launched Mind Infestation. This attack let him easily enter the mind of the guard and find his weaknesses, his strengths, and it also allowed him to control the guard.
Xue Wei was calm and collected. Although this was a life and death moment, he understood the importance of being calm and not overlooking a single detail. If he allowed his killing intent and the urge to battle to take over, it was certain that he would never exit the prison.
The guard made his way towards Xue Wei's cell. He fiddled with his keys as Xue Wei went through the memories of this guard to figure out which key it was that he had to use.
This guard was informed Xue Wei was assumed to be a Primordial Beast. He had trusted completely in the information he had been given.
Xue Wei snorted. He then compelled the guard to move closer to his cell while at the same time observing the surroundings for any guards that might end up walking in on the scene.
Xue Wei made the guard open the cell. He knocked the guard unconscious swiftly, without killing him, as he had enough issues already. Killing even a mere guard could only worsen it, not improve it.
Since this was the case, Xue Wei used his Mind Infestation to make the guard fall unconscious for a few hours, and started sneaking around the labyrinth that was the prison.
He had his spiritual energy spread all around him for the sake of noticing all the changes in the surrounding air. His every sense was heightened as he snuck around.
The prison cells were all closed by massive doors that no one could look through, which caused the other criminals to be incapable of noticing this sneaking escapee.
Had they seen him, they would have without a doubt called out and alerted the guards out of jealousy. All of them wished to escape, yet the only escape that was from this prison was death.
Xue Wei snuck from one side to another in search of the entrance. The guards became more numerous the further he went, but Xue Wei knew that hiding in the shadows alone was not enough.
As he reached the entrance, he saw that four guards were placed here, all of them at the ninth layer of the Earth Warrior rank.
”Let us create some chaos then,” Xue Wei mumbled to himself and found the keys he had taken from the unconscious guard. He then started unlocking one cell after another until at least a hundred prison cells were unlocked.
Xue Wei did not open the doors; he just unlocked them. The loud clink could be heard by the prisoners, but they all assumed that it was a guard who was entering their cells with food or for some other reason, only to see that nothing happened.
Xue Wei snuck back to the entrance and hid in the darkness of a corner, eyes narrowed, and waited for the chaos to ensue.
Some prisoners were rather fast at exiting their cells. However, they did so with caution, while others stayed within their cells for longer.
Xue Wei was patient. He noticed how many of the experts exited the cells and snuck around like him in their attempt to escape. None of them were bold enough to walk in the middle of the hallways, and all of them hid themselves to the best of their ability.
Although they hid themselves, there were a few people who were noticed, and suddenly a loud whistle sounded in the prison ward. ”Prison break! someone has escaped their cells!”
The moment the yell resounded, the four guards at the entrance of the prison exchanged glances. ”The Primordial Beast!” they yelled in unison before they all, without double-checking their surroundings, rushed towards Xue Wei's cell.
Xue Wei, who had been waiting for this could not help but snicker slightly. Things were going according to plan.
While no one had taken the clothes he had been wearing, they had taken his bamboo hat and his bag filled with his herbs, money, and spare clothes.
They had also taken his armor. While Xue Wei would miss these things, he was not about to start looking for them. Instead, he slipped to the side as soon as he exited the prison and hid in another shade of darkness.
He did not move too far as he knew that reinforcements would arrive soon, and the further away he went the more likely he were to run into them.
Hiding in the shadows close to the prison was risky, but it was also Xue Wei's only option. He could already hear the sound of running steps towards him, and he observed as Sky Warriors started entering the prison.
Xue Wei planted five seeds of Mirage, after which he made all five of his copies rely on the Forbidden Rush movement technique to flee in different directions.