Chapter 23: The True Humiliation

  In the dark depths of the dungeon, on the damp ground lay a disheveled boy covered in bloodstains, with horrific wounds some of which had already coagulated while others still gaped open.

  Like a blood-soaked person, unable to distinguish his original appearance.

  Tang Guan was first counterattacked by the powerful force, and then suffered severe torture at the hands of Liu Xun, saying that he was on his last breath was not an exaggeration, only feeling more exhaling, less inhaling.

  The environment in prison made him unable to distinguish between day and night, only hearing the sound of groaning around him.

  "Kid, you're awake."

  A hoarse male voice made Tang Guan slowly wake up, and with difficulty, he turned his head towards the direction of the sound, only to find that someone was speaking from the dark corner of the adjacent cell.

  Tang Guan didn't bother with him; he simply didn't have the energy to care about others anymore. Every movement sent a tearing pain through his body.

  "Clang... clang..." A sound of iron chains rubbing against each other rose, and the figure slowly crawled out of the darkness to the edge of the cell, only a bar away from Tang Guan.

  Tang Guan forced himself to take a clear look at the man's appearance, and suddenly opened his eyes wide. He saw that the man was a disheveled and unkempt individual with scars all over his face like centipedes.

  What's most frightening is that he was actually locked in the wall with two huge locks piercing through his pubic bone.

  "Little kid, what did you do wrong, to get beaten up like this?"

  Tang Guan felt a little fearful and wanted to move his body away from the man, but he was completely powerless. He couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart: "I, a proud crosser, have actually fallen to this state."

  In the past, I occasionally thought about myself being in a high position, but that was just idle thinking. Reality is indeed unpredictable. Now that Tang has been imprisoned, I finally understand that he is also a living person who can die and feel pain.

  The man didn't know why he was staring at Tang Guan, who was paralyzed on the ground. Tang Guan didn't even look at him. Firstly, the man looked really terrifying, and secondly, Tang Guan simply didn't have the energy to chat idly.

  Just as the two fell silent, several yamen runners approached with two large bowls.

  For a moment, they both unconsciously leaned to the right as they passed by the cell of the man with scars all over his face, seemingly intimidated by him.

  "Hey kiddo, wake up! Dinner's ready!"

  "Bang, bang, bang!" The jailer knocked on the cell door a few times. "Clang" A large white bowl was passed in. Tang Guan, who had already woken up, struggled to move forward a bit.

  "What's with Lao Zi?!" The sudden loud roar made Tang Guan, who was crawling, extremely shocked. It turned out that it was that fierce-looking man shouting again.

  The yamen runner seemed to have anticipated this, hastily handing in another bowl and immediately withdrawing his hand, looking at the man's eyes as if he were a fierce beast locked in a cage.

  Tang Crown stopped for a moment, and then moved again with difficulty, finally barely able to reach the bowl, and plunged his head into it.

  "Ugh!" He immediately lifted his head again and vomited.

  "Whoosh... whoosh..." It turned out that the bowl was full of whooshing rice. Tang Guan, who was used to eating vegetables and meat, felt extremely nauseous at this sight. If his stomach hadn't been empty for a long time, he would have vomited up all the bile by now.

  "You little scoundrel! You should be grateful to have food to eat!" The bailiff, seeing Tang Guan spit out the rice, raised his whip and was about to lash Tang Guan through the door, but was stopped by another bailiff.

  The yamen runner leaned in and whispered to him: "We've taken his family's money, hurry up and finish eating, pack up quickly, the master has ordered that he is not allowed to have dinner"

  The bailiff calmed down and shouted: "Eat quickly!"

  "It's too late!" Another official saw that Tang Guan was unwilling to eat, stretched out his hand and turned the rice bowl over, and took the bowl away with him.

  The man on the other side held his bowl and poured it into his mouth, swallowing hastily, and in a few moments it was all down.

  "Little kid, if you don't eat, they won't have to kill you, you'll die by yourself."

  Tang Guan had just taken a big mouthful, although most of it was spat out, but some couldn't be spat out in time. At this point, he also recovered some strength.

  "Who are you?" Tang Guan asked aloud.

  "Haha, Ma Lie"

  "Oh, never heard of it" Tang Guan responded lightly, if it were in normal times, he would definitely mutter a few words: "You're still Marx and Lenin"

  But now he didn't have such a mind, and he was completely unaware that he was talking to a fugitive.

  Ma Lie, a famous strongman in Shandong province. It is said that at the age of 18 or 19, he could lift several hundred kilograms with ease, and his single-handed strength was enough to hold up a robust man without any effort. After failing to pass the imperial examination for martial arts, he returned to his hometown and became a bandit, relying on his great physical strength to roam freely in the regions of Yunguang and Dongguan. Ironically, he ultimately lost his hand on the Jiangnan Road.

  Although he had been imprisoned for nearly three years, his reputation on the road did not weaken. Generally, those who did some small business had heard of him. At this time, seeing that Tang Guan didn't recognize himself and didn't think it was unusual, Tang Guan looked like just an eight-year-old boy.

  "Hey kid, what's your name?" Ma Lie didn't know if it was because he was too bored or had other intentions, but he took a great interest in Tang Guan, who was both young and on death row.

  "Tang Crown..." Tang Crown responded with a faint voice. The tempting aroma of the rice bowl on the ground was enticing him, and the pain in his abdomen, whether from injury or hunger, was stimulating him.

  "Oh, I've never heard of it" Ma Lie also had a similar tone, as if teasing Tang Guan.

  Tang Guan didn't respond after finishing speaking, but instead stared at the bowl of rice in front of him. Ma Lie coldly smiled and said: "You're not full, how can you fight with them?"

  This speech, like a spell, instantly shattered Tang's last pride. He held up his head and ate like a wild dog, the rice entering his mouth completely tasteless, but tears rolled down continuously. The salty flavor mixed with the rice as he swallowed big mouthfuls into his belly.

  When did he suffer such humiliation, even in the most primitive civilized society, there was still respect on the surface, no matter how many hidden rules there were. But at this moment, he felt the true meaning of humiliation for the first time.

  "Hahaha" Ma Lie looked at Tang Guan's pitiful appearance, and actually burst out laughing loudly. Tang Guan ignored him, continuing to eat the leftover rice on the ground with big mouthfuls.

  In an instant, Tang Guan finished eating the muddy rice, and when he lifted his head, his tears stopped. His body slowly fell back down, and he knew that in this situation, he couldn't get excited, or else the one who would end up getting hurt was still himself.

  "Little one, what crime have you committed? Murder? Or being beaten by your family's elders?"

  "No, no, how can a young kid like you commit murder? What crime did the adults in your family commit to get you involved?"

  Ma Lie asked himself, as if the words had opened a floodgate. This was a death row prison cell, and few people were locked up here. Ma Lie was originally a bold and ruthless man. He didn't care whether Tang Guan was big or small, he just wanted to vent his frustration for now.

  Tang Guan took a few deep breaths and had to admit that Ma Lie was right, the meal was indeed energizing, and he said with a twisted head: "You talk too much"

  "You little scamp!" Ma Lie's eyebrows rose at the words, and he burst out laughing, not taking it seriously. He crawled back into the darkness, no longer watching Tang Guan.

  At this time, Tang Guan finally had the spirit to observe his surroundings. As he did so, a sense of sorrow arose from within. Despite possessing unparalleled talent and boundless energy, in the end, it was all still subject to the limitations of human power.

  He thought of the meal they had just eaten and Tang Guan clenched his fists tightly.

  "Let me go! Let me go!" A sudden burst of urgent cries made Tang Guan stunned, and the voice felt unusually familiar.

  Tang Guan immediately twisted a few times and leaned her head against the railing, looking out.

  "Little Seven!" Tang Guan couldn't help but exclaim as he saw a jailer carrying a small child, seemingly selecting a prison cell.

  "Li Tou, no more hiding!" the bailiff shouted loudly. (Note: Xi Wo is a slang term)

  "Just find him something casually, this thief is used to it, starving him for a few days will make him honest." A response came from the other side.

  The yamen runners looked left and right, and in each room there were also several prisoners with dull eyes who didn't know how long they had been locked up.

  "Put him in the death cell for now, prepare a pen for him, don't really kill him yet!" The yamen shouted again and surprisingly brought Xiao Qi towards Tang Guan.

  Tang Guan's eyebrows furrowed at the sight, unsure of what had happened, but a flash of delight flickered across Xiao Qi's lively big eyes.

  "Thanks, Uncle Lao Gen, thanks..." Xiao Qi said in a low voice to the bailiff. The bailiff, referred to as Uncle Lao Gen, slightly shook his head and stretched out his hand towards Xiao Qi, who was hiding under his arm. Seeing this, Xiao Qi quickly searched his chest and placed dozens of copper coins into Uncle Lao Gen's palm.

  Lao Gen Shu felt a bit and smiled slightly, thinking in his heart: "This kid spends money to find trouble, it's really rare"

  The two of them happened to pass by Tang Guan's prison cell, and Xiao Qi caught sight of the blood-soaked person leaning against the cell door, with rice grains still stuck in the corner of his mouth, yet he didn't even recognize that it was Tang Guan.

  The iron door of the cell next to "Ding" was opened, and Xiao Qi was thrown in. Only then did Lao Gen Shu say: "In six days, I'll come to release you, remember to give me that half."

  "Definitely, definitely!" Little Qi nodded hastily, and Lao Gen Shu finally turned around to leave. Little Qi suddenly came back to life, looking left and right.

  "Xiao Lang Jun should be here!" Xiao Qi looked around, but the opposite and adjacent rooms were empty. There was only a bloody person on his left side, who didn't seem to be Tang Guan either.

  In his impression, Tang Guan had always been a spirited and handsome young man, how could he possibly become like that.

  Just as he was getting anxious, a voice suddenly rang out.

  Little Qī (or Little Seven)

  Xiao Qi suddenly turned her head and stared at the bloody man she had just seen passing by.