Chapter Twenty-One: Escape from Prison?

Early morning.

Qin Yang drifted awake, the first sensation being that his entire body was restrained. Through his hazy vision, he saw several police officers stationed nearby, with doctors and nurses bustling in and out, their constant movement making his eyes ache.

"Doctor, he's awake," a nurse whispered.

Officer Xiao Zhao approached, glanced at him, then signaled for the doctors and nurses to leave before pulling a chair over to sit beside him. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Qin Yang shook his head and said, "Give me some water."

Xiao Zhao seemed prepared for this and helped him drink a cup. Qin Yang finally felt somewhat better. He glanced at the handcuffs binding his wrists, let out a bitter laugh, and Xiao Zhao shrugged helplessly. "Just doing my job. There's something important I must tell you."

Qin Yang gestured for him to continue.

"The prisoner you fought with last night was Ji Lietiger. On the way to the hospital, he injured five guards and escaped," Xiao Zhao said, his expression grave. "This incident is under strict investigation, and you bear direct responsibility."

"What?" Qin Yang was startled, incredulity in his voice. "He actually escaped? Is your police force so weak? After fighting me for so long and being shocked twice, he still managed to run? And what does this have to do with me? He attacked me first—I was just defending myself!"

Xiao Zhao winced at the criticism of the police and felt somewhat ashamed. "It was indeed our oversight. We didn't expect Ji Lietiger to have any strength left with handcuffs and shackles. He's a gang leader—it took a great deal of effort to capture him in the first place. And in his escape, you indirectly aided the suspect."

Qin Yang interrupted him, displeased. "So, you can't admit fault to outsiders and are using me as a scapegoat?"

Xiao Zhao forced a wry smile. "Don't get worked up. This is just a preliminary assessment. We're collecting statements from the other three inmates in your cell. I believe that will help you, but you do have a record, so..."

"Damn it!" Qin Yang cursed angrily.

What the hell was this? If only he'd gone to the blind date last night, none of this mess would have happened. Seeing his agitation, Xiao Zhao simply patted his shoulder and left him alone.

"Steward, any way I can get out of here right now?" Qin Yang asked furiously.

"Simple—break out," the steward suggested, as if eager to see the world in chaos. "Just a few second-rate officers, hardly a threat to the might of the Underworld."

"I'm not interested in becoming a wanted man just yet," Qin Yang grumbled.

"When your strength reaches a certain level, the term 'wanted man' will no longer apply to you. Anyway, this hospital has plenty of wandering spirits you could absorb," the steward replied.

Qin Yang knew there was no use in fretting. Following the steward’s suggestion, he absorbed over a dozen wandering souls nearby into the Underworld. The steward was slightly excited. "There's a peak-level first-tier spirit here—a renowned jewelry designer from Haitian City. Do you want to read his memories? You currently have eighty-five soul points, not quite enough to read them, but the jade pendant has accumulated forty points, which would suffice."

Qin Yang rolled his eyes. After absorbing Liu Qishan’s memories, he’d been left with eighty points. The rate of one point every eight hours had given him five more, but soul points were his lifeblood now. Wasting them to absorb a jewelry designer’s memories seemed foolish. "Forget it. Let’s see if he has any unfulfilled wishes. If I help fulfill them, I might gain his abilities."

"His only wish is for the designs he made before death to be widely recognized," the steward replied. "But you’d still need to read his memories to obtain the designs."

"Isn’t that contradictory?" Qin Yang said, exasperated.

"Fulfilling a lingering wish mainly increases the Underworld’s favorability toward spirits. Strictly speaking, it’s not contradictory," the steward replied.

"Let’s leave it for now. I’m not interested in the jewelry business." Qin Yang refused the designer’s wish. Wasting that many soul points for favor with the Underworld was of no benefit to either him or the steward.

Suddenly remembering something, Qin Yang called out, "Xiao Zhao! Xiao Zhao!"

"What is it?" Xiao Zhao, who was at the door, hurried over.

"You’re interrogating the three thugs from my cell, right? At the time I was accused of assaulting that female student, I was busy teaching them a lesson. Don’t ask why—it’s enough to prove the beating and the assault charges are baseless, isn’t it?" Qin Yang said.

Xiao Zhao’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Why didn’t you say so last night? You could have avoided all this mess. I’ll make arrangements right away." He quickly instructed the other officers and rushed back to the station.

Soon, Xiao Zhao returned with good news.

"They’ve confessed. We’ve detained the female worker and the student and are interrogating them to find out who put them up to this," Xiao Zhao reported, still catching his breath. "As for the prison break, the three gave statements that match the forensic findings, though we’ll continue the investigation. Your lawyer has already secured your release on bail, and it’s been approved."

"Unlock these," Qin Yang said, indicating his handcuffs.

Xiao Zhao slapped his forehead, quickly unlocked him, and Qin Yang stood up, stretching. Xiao Zhao, surprised, remarked, "I can’t believe you’re unharmed after such a fierce fight with Ji Lietiger. Last night, the doctors said you had three fractures. Looks like the hospital’s diagnostics are seriously outdated."

Qin Yang just grinned.

Could he explain that this was thanks to the Underworld? Rapid recovery came at a price, though—his stamina was nearly depleted, and he was starving. At that moment, Wang Zhibing rushed in. Seeing Qin Yang safe at last, he breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged a few words with Xiao Zhao, then took Qin Yang away.

"Young master, you’d better stop meddling in other people’s business. Just look at the trouble it’s caused," Wang Zhibing said, having already learned the details from the police and been thoroughly alarmed.

Qin Yang laughed. "I misjudged the situation."

"That Yang Yaxin really doesn’t know what’s good for her. You helped her, and yet—" Wang Zhibing’s tone grew indignant. "I used to oppose the old master’s plan to buy out Yang’s Jewelry, but now I’m all for it."

"How are the two matters related?" Qin Yang asked, frowning in confusion.

"You didn’t know? Yang Mo, the chairman of Yang’s Jewelry, is Yang Yaxin’s father."