Chapter 12: Higher-Level Rotation

Three days after explaining the escape plan in full to Blood Owl, Zuo Dao began noticing some unusual things about his new detention block.

On the twenty-second, he finally couldn't keep it to himself any longer and went to find Blood Owl.

When he entered Blood Owl's cell, he found him discussing something with an old man, as usual. From what Zuo Dao had observed, the two were practically inseparable, stopping just short of sleeping together. They talked almost every waking moment.

If they'd been a man and a woman, it would have made sense. They must be two heterosexuals who hadn't married yet. But here was a bloodthirsty maniac in his early thirties and an old fellow who'd been locked up for years. Could these two have secretly joined Tidal Prison's third-largest gang?

“Well... Brother Owl, this humble Daoist has a matter to discuss with you. Might we speak in private?” Zuo Dao glanced politely at the old man and addressed Blood Owl with the utmost courtesy.

The answer he got was, “Cut the crap. Spit it out.”

Zuo Dao sighed and thought, Fine. That means you trust this old fellow, so I'll speak freely. If he figures something out and reports us, don't blame me.

“Hmm... First, it's been three days, and not a single guard in this block has changed,” Zuo Dao said. “Second, of the eighty-five prisoners here, over thirty are ability users at Strong rank or above. That's getting close to half. My old block had a little over a hundred prisoners, and barely twenty percent were at Strong rank or above.

“I've kept count. In these three days, fifty-seven prisoners have been transferred in or out, but only two of those thirty-odd ability users at Strong rank or above have moved. Everyone else changing blocks has been someone like me. I'm starting to wonder if this place...”

“Heh heh heh... Very impressive, young man. In just three days, you've memorized every guard's number and every prisoner in the block, worked out their approximate ranks, and kept count of the transfers... If I'd had a mind like yours when I was young, I wouldn't have ended up in here.” The old man interrupted Zuo Dao with a chuckle.

“How do you know there are over thirty ability users here at Strong rank or above?” Two seconds after asking, Blood Owl realized something. “Oh... You can even do that... I've really underestimated you.”

Blood Owl's face lit up with excitement as he grabbed Zuo Dao's collar with one hand. “To think you've been hiding your true strength. You must be at least at the peak of Strong rank. Ha... Excellent. No time like the present. Let's spar with what little energy we can use in the mist. I've learned plenty of new tricks, and I've been looking for someone to try them on.”

“Have mercy, mighty hero!” Zuo Dao wailed, without shedding a single tear. “Spare me! I'm too weak to truss a chicken, afflicted with a shameful ailment I cannot speak of, already at death's door with my last strength spent. How could I possibly be your match? If you don't believe me, I'll cough up twenty-five grams of blood right now... Ahem... Cough, cough...”

“Ha ha ha...” The old man laughed at Zuo Dao's antics. “Blood Owl, don't force him. He's only Paper rank. He couldn't survive your rough treatment.”

Blood Owl said, “I can see that myself. But he might have some way of passing himself off as a lower-rank ability user. Otherwise, how could he...”

“Heh heh... In all my years, I've never seen anyone capable of hiding their rank,” the old man interrupted. “Our young friend Zuo Dao must have had guidance from an expert. He's only Paper rank, yet he's already grasped the principles of energy. Exceptional aptitude indeed. A promising pupil.”

“Guidance from an expert?” Blood Owl looked down at Zuo Dao's twitching face with lofty disdain. “Tian Yi?”

“Yes! Yes! It's all his fault! He made me learn it!” Zuo Dao hurriedly replied.

Blood Owl let go. “Sooner or later, I'll have to cut that fellow open and take a good look.”

Feeling as though he'd been granted a pardon, Zuo Dao let out a long breath. “You have my wholehearted support.”

The old man spoke up. “Young man, would you like to join Blood Owl as my disciple and study energy in greater depth? You're young, with a solid foundation and an exceptional mind. You could go far.”

Zuo Dao replied, “No need... I am the sole surviving heir to the Mount Heming Zhengyi school in the twenty-second century. Strictly speaking, I'm the head of a school myself.”

Blood Owl had just sat down. At these words, he immediately glared at Zuo Dao. “Too good for the honor, are you?”

Zuo Dao's knees hit the floor with a smack. Judging by his posture, his legs had probably given way on the spot. “Master, Senior Brother, accept your disciple's bow!”

“Ho ho... Get up, get up. We're all in prison. No need to stand on ceremony.” The old man laughed.

Now Zuo Dao understood. Blood Owl had been hanging around the old man to take lessons and level up every day. Even prison hadn't slowed him down. By the time this guy got out, he'd probably be ready to grab a staff and wreak havoc in Heaven.

The old man pointed at his shock ring. “I'm Yan Kong. Just an old man without an ability.”

“You're kidding!” Zuo Dao exclaimed. He could clearly sense energy circulating inside Yan Kong in a pattern that only developed at Fierce rank or above, yet the old fellow insisted he had no ability?

“Don't be surprised. Spend a few decades in the mist, and your ability will disappear too. But no substance can erase the methods and techniques you've learned for circulating energy within your body,” Yan Kong said. “You've noticed something unusual about this block as well. In fact, this isn't an ordinary detention block. Of course, it isn't a special detention block either.

“Blocks like this are disguised to look just like ordinary ones. Prisoners below Fierce rank can't tell the difference. But if you're at Blood Owl's level, you can see where the problem lies.”

Blood Owl took over. “Since I entered this prison, I've been moved only once, and that was into this block.” He glanced at Yan Kong. “This old fellow only changes cells once a year.”

Zuo Dao's eyes darted back and forth as he thought. Then he asked, “So... even the ordinary detention blocks have different grades. We just... don't know about them.”

“Heh... A very sharp mind,” Yan Kong said. “Even among Strong-rank prisoners, there are differences. The true experts, those who've gained some understanding of the existence and significance of energy, aren't held in the sort of block you were in a few days ago. They rotate through a set of higher-grade blocks. The stronger they are, the less often they're moved.”

Zuo Dao continued, “I get it. Say there are three hundred boxes: two hundred and eighty ordinary ones and twenty higher-grade ones. Everyone from Paper-rank ability users like me to the weaker Strong-rank prisoners rotates through all three hundred boxes, so we get moved more often. But prisoners at the upper end of Strong rank and above only rotate through those twenty boxes. If they were moved too often, someone might work out the total number of higher-grade blocks.”

Blood Owl said, “Exactly. With this arrangement, prisoners like you don't notice anything, while people like us, who move about once a month on average, don't see anything unusual either. The only ones who notice are people in Old Yan's situation, or fellows like you with the brains and inclination to remember guard numbers, prisoner counts, and proportions.

“There's something else you can't have sensed. That's because you're only Paper rank, of course, so the mist has less effect on you. If you were strong enough, you'd notice that the concentration of mist in the air is distinctly higher in the higher-grade blocks...”