Chapter 62: Time-Space Traveler

  The sky had already darkened, and the prison gate was pushed open by someone. The two of them thought it was Zhang Xiaofan coming back, so they both stood up. But what they saw was an old man with white hair all over his head, holding a horse lantern in one hand and a bamboo basket in the other, containing several steamed buns, some salted vegetables, and a clay pot. It turned out to be someone delivering food.

  The old man put down the basket in front of the door, took out the food from the basket and placed it on the windowsill, then put yesterday's bowls and chopsticks back into the basket. Without a word, he walked away. Gu Longfei hastily ran over, grabbed his sleeve and shouted: "Old fellow, please go call Wang Dahai for me, I have something to say to him!"

  The old man turned around, looked at Gu Longfei in a daze, pointed to his own ears with his hand, and then walked out the door without looking back. Seeing his appearance, this old man was actually deaf, and he secretly felt shocked. What kind of prison is this? Even the person who delivers food is chosen to be deaf and dumb, the purpose is not to let them pass on messages. It seems that Wang Dahai and others regard themselves as important prisoners!

  As expected, the sentry standing guard outside the door heard Gu Longfei talking to Lao Tou and immediately stood in front of the door, pulled the bolt with a clang, pointed his gun at Gu Longfei, and shouted loudly: "Get out! Who allowed you to shout here!"

  Jiulong Fei saw the muzzle of the gun in the dark hole, and he was not afraid at all. With his skills, even if he was trapped in this small cell, the gun would not hurt him. He just thought that it would be a big deal to make a fuss, and for a long time, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Moreover, these guards were just ordinary people who liked to shout and yell, and there was no need to take them seriously. So he went to the window to get some food, turned his back and walked away, only to hear the sound of "bang" as the door closed heavily behind him, and outside, he could still hear the guard's curses.

  Gu Longfei handed a steamed bun to Feng Xiaotian, and the two began eating pickled vegetables. Feng Xiaotian took a bite, chewed for a few mouthfuls, and suddenly started coughing violently. Gu Longfei hastily handed him an earthenware pot, and he drank several large gulps of water in succession, only recovering after a long while. He couldn't help but curse: "These bastards, they embezzle and sell our rations, and give us this stuff to eat! Humph, this isn't even fit for humans, let alone pigs - pigs wouldn't even eat it!"

  Gu Long pinched a small piece of Wohuo's head, feeling icy cold and extremely hard, like holding a stone in his hand! He lightly bit into it and chewed for a few moments before spitting it out. It was all bran and chaff, really difficult to swallow. He said: "Uncle Feng, no matter how unpalatable, we have to force ourselves to swallow it down, otherwise where will the energy come from to keep up with them?"

  Feng Xiaotian nodded slightly, blinked his eyes, and made an effort to swallow the things in his mouth, for a moment he couldn't say anything.

  Jiulong Fei reluctantly ate half a steamed bun, and really couldn't eat anymore. He heard the sentry walking back and forth outside the door, the rubber sole making "squeaking" sounds on the ground. He said, "Uncle Feng, do you see the sentry standing outside the door? They brought us here with great fanfare, they must have a big plan, otherwise they wouldn't send armed men to guard us!"

  Feng Xiaotian looked out the window at the dark night sky and said, "Yes, they must have some ulterior motive. Otherwise, why would they go to such great lengths to capture us, only to throw us into this prison cell without even bothering to interrogate us? The question is, what exactly is their plot?"

  Kuryuu Hiei was also puzzled, thinking for a long time and couldn't guess their intentions. If it were the case that he led the small knife gang and the matter of taking down Anfu Taro's twenty or so men had been exposed, he wouldn't be locked up in the police station either. According to the Japanese people's arrogant and brutal nature, they would have already been caught by the military police and shot! Moreover, this didn't concern Feng Xiaotian at all, what reason did they have to catch him? This prison cell wasn't the only one here, why did they put himself and Feng Xiaotian together? Was there some kind of connection between them?

  These problems had been swirling in his mind, but he couldn't find the answers for half a day. At this moment, he felt dizzy and his head was swelling. Just then, the prison door opened, and with the help of the courtyard lights, he saw clearly that the person who came in was Zhang Xiaofan, who had been taken away earlier!

  Zhang Xiaofan was pushed in, his footsteps staggering, not as steady as when he went out. He must have just suffered severe torture. Gu Longfei and Feng Xiaotian hurried over to support him, letting him lean against the wall, then asked: "What's wrong with you? Are your injuries serious?"

  Zhang Xiaofan gasped for a while before slowly calming down. Gu Longfei hastily handed him an earthenware pot filled with clear water, and he picked it up, taking several gulps in succession, drinking a bit too quickly, spilling quite a lot on his collar. It seemed that just this short period of time had been enough for him to be taken away and subjected to considerable torture, resulting in such severe dehydration!

  Jiulong Fei stretched out his hand and wiped away the water on his clothes, asking: "Old man, why did they want to torture you?"

  Zhang Xiaofan didn't say a word, he just pointed at the Wonton in Gu Longfei's hand. It turned out that he was hungry. Gu Longfei quickly turned around and brought over an uneaten Wonton for him. He grasped it in his hand, opened his mouth and took a big bite, closed his lips and started chewing vigorously. Seeing him eating with relish, Gu Longfei thought to himself that this person must have been living here for a long time, he was already used to eating this kind of thing. This stone-like Wonton, he ate it as if it were a juicy meat bun, alas, how pitiful!

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, before long, he had eaten a whole steamed bun clean, and in the process of eating, surprisingly, not a single bite was choked. After finishing his meal, his eyes were fixed tightly on Gu Longfei's half-eaten steamed bun, with a greedy look in his eyes!

  The food that was just delivered only had three steamed buns, which means each person only got one! No wonder this guy has been locked up here for several months, every day he only gets a fist-sized steamed bun, he's already starving to the point of dizziness. Looking at Gu Long flying with half a steamed bun in his hand, his cheeks couldn't help but bulge, as if even chewing air could suppress the hunger fire in his stomach!

  Jiulong Fei hastily stuffed the Wonton into his hand and said: "You eat it, I'm not hungry!"

  Zhang Xiaofan didn't stand on ceremony, took the Wonton and swallowed it in two or three mouthfuls, licked his lips, then picked up the bowl and gurgled a few mouthfuls of water before finally stopping with a satisfied expression. He looked at Gu Longfei and said: "What did you just call me?"

  Jiulong Fei was taken aback, seeing that he had disheveled hair and a full beard, with deep wrinkles on his forehead. He looked to be at least sixty years old, so calling him "old man" shouldn't be wrong, right? So he said: "I just called you 'old man', what's wrong? Did I get it wrong?"

  Zhang Xiaofan suddenly burst out laughing: "Old man! You call me old man! Hehe, do you know how old I am this year?"

  Feng Xiaotian looked at him from the side and saw that he was much older than himself, while Gu Longfei was only in his early twenties. He shouldn't be called an old man, so what should he be called?

  "Unknown? You... how old are you?" He saw Zhang Xiaofan suddenly mention his age, and didn't know what he meant.

  Zhang Xiaofan smiled again, but this smile had a hint of helplessness. He said, "Just now when I saw you helping me in and dividing the steamed buns among yourselves, I'll tell you a secret: I'm 19 years old this year, and only after the new year will I be fully 20!"

  Feng Xiaotian was shocked and asked, "You're not even twenty years old? This... how is this possible!" He looked at Zhang Xiaofan's appearance, which was no less than sixty years old, and after suffering in prison, he had become much thinner, so even if someone said he was seventy years old, it wouldn't be an exaggeration.

  Jiulong Fei was also startled and said, "You're only 19? Then... why do you look like this?" He thought to himself that no one would believe he's so young with this appearance. Could it be that his brain has a problem, speaking such nonsense? But listening to his clear voice and coherent sentences, he didn't seem like someone with a mental issue either.

  Zhang Xiaofan's smile faded, and he sighed: "This dignified appearance of mine looks like it's in its sixties or seventies, who would believe me... I'm actually still in my prime!"

  Jiulong Fei saw that he was somewhat melancholic and knew that there must be some unfortunate encounter, which would lead to his current old appearance. He asked carefully: "You... did you encounter something heartbreaking, so as to become like this? I've heard the story of Wu Zixu's overnight whitening of hair before, could it be that you have a similar experience?"

  Zhang Xiaofan waved his hand, remained silent for a while, and suddenly said: "I didn't experience the misfortune of Wu Zixu! This is one of my secrets, I didn't want to say it out, but unfortunately my days are numbered, if I don't say it now, there won't be another chance!"

  Ji Longfei and Feng Xiaotian exchanged a glance in the darkness, their hearts racing wildly with a mix of surprise, excitement, and anticipation that seemed to be shared without words.

  "Gu Long Fei asked: "You... you said that time is running out, I don't quite understand?" He looked at Zhang Xiao Fan who was speaking seriously, seemingly not joking around, and didn't know how old he was, so he didn't know what to call him."

  Feng Xiaotian also said: "Yes, you just said that you are only 19 years old, and the future is still long!" He also had many doubts in his heart and couldn't help but ask.

  Zhang Xiaofan sighed in the darkness and said, "Well, this is a long story! If you don't mind my chatter, I'll tell you about it!"

  "We're all trapped here, lost our freedom, with nothing to do. You might as well tell us! Besides, on this long and sleepless night, having a story to listen to is far better than tossing and turning, struggling to stay awake in the cold darkness!"

  Phoenix Xiao Tian also said: "Right, right, I slept all day today, and tonight I'll probably be wide awake again!"

  "Alright, I'll tell you about my extraordinary experiences over the past few days! Earlier, you asked me how I didn't look like a 19-year-old, and to be honest, when I looked in the mirror, I didn't think so either! The reason for this is that I accidentally discovered the secret of traversing time and space. Driven by curiosity, I began to travel back and forth through different times and spaces! At first, it was incredibly exciting, and I forgot myself, traveling to the Tang Dynasty, then to prehistoric times, and then to several thousand years in the future - wherever I wanted to go!"

  Feng Xiaotian had never heard of time-space travel before, and was so shocked that his mouth was wide open for a long time, unable to close it. He couldn't help but ask: "Time-space travel? Is it true or false?"