Chapter 30: The Prison Cell
The two of them walked out of the room. Outside was a dim and narrow corridor. Judging from the layout, this place was underground. After losing consciousness, Lu Yuan had no idea where he had been taken.
The corridor was long, with other rooms on both sides. One of the doors was half-open. Lu Yuan saw that the space inside was quite large, lit by candles. More than a dozen cultists were kneeling beneath a bird-shaped idol, praying. The air carried a rotten, sour stench.
"By the way, Lu Yuan, have you registered for the college entrance exam yet?"
While walking, Guo Huai suddenly asked.
Lu Yuan calculated the timing in his mind. Xiaobing should have already helped him register online by now. Keeping his composure, he replied, "I have."
"Good. Later, give me your ID number and password."
Lu Yuan nodded in agreement, but his heart was shaken. He had already realized that this group of cultists in Jiangzhou City was planning to cause trouble at the exam site.
Otherwise, why would Guo Huai care about his registration and even ask for his ID number and password? He didn't believe for a second that a cult guard was concerned about his studies and future.
Guo Huai eventually brought Lu Yuan to a small room and indicated that this would be where he would stay for the time being. Lu Yuan wrote down his ID number and password on a piece of paper. After taking it, Guo Huai locked the door and left.
"Stay here and wait for orders."
Only after the footsteps had faded far away did Lu Yuan lean against the door and let out a long breath. For now, he was temporarily out of danger.
From the moment he made official contact with the cult, he had been extremely tense. When he was ambushed in the rental apartment, he had thought he was dead for sure.
He never expected to actually pass the test. Lu Yuan recalled that before he lost consciousness, someone had said, "No signs of dantian formation. Not a cultivator."
"Luckily Ji Yin didn't send Shang Qiyuan on this mission, otherwise I'd have died at the first hurdle," Lu Yuan thought with relief.
He already knew that many staff members in the Internal Affairs Bureau were cultivators. However, low-level cultivators were not considered formal cultivators. In fact, low-level cultivators could be identified by appearance—if they wore uniforms, there would be a metal green leaf badge on their chest, sometimes one leaf, sometimes two or three.
In Ningcheng's Internal Affairs Bureau, there was only one official cultivator—Ji Yin. On his uniform, he wore a silver cross-shaped flower, which was likely the symbol of a mid-level cultivator.
Even low-level cultivators possessed strength far beyond Lu Yuan. Any one of them could casually toss him around like a ball.
That included Guo Huai today. In front of this cult guard, Lu Yuan had no ability to resist at all.
This was Lu Yuan's current understanding of cultivators. But today, he had gained an important piece of information: only after forming a dantian could one be considered a true cultivator.
As for how Guo Huai determined that he hadn't formed a dantian yet, or how a dantian was formed in the first place, Lu Yuan had no idea. It seemed to be another secret of cultivators.
Now that he was temporarily safe, Lu Yuan examined the entire room and realized that it was actually a prison cell. The door was made of steel and could only be opened from the outside with a key. He tried pushing it, but it didn't budge at all.
There was a small ventilation window on the door, welded with iron bars so tight that even a mouse couldn't squeeze through.
The room was cramped, with a low ceiling and a damp, rough concrete floor. A single steel wire bed took up half the space, and a set of worn-out table and chairs occupied the other half.
An emergency light hung on the wall, and there was a chamber pot under the bed.
"Putting facts aside, this is actually a pretty good place for secluded study."
Lu Yuan chuckled at himself. His harsh life in his previous life had given him the habit of finding amusement in hardship. No matter what, Guo Huai had at least left him his backpack.
His phone and ID card had been taken away, and his house keys were gone as well. With nothing else to do and unwilling to waste time, Lu Yuan began reviewing physics under the emergency light.
Strangely enough, perhaps because there were fewer distractions, his study efficiency was unprecedentedly high. In this pitch-dark underground place, Lu Yuan lost track of time while studying.
After an unknown period, someone opened the door from outside and brought in a bowl of rice mixed with oil.
"You're really working hard at studying," the person sneered.
Lu Yuan glanced at him and didn't recognize him, so he said ingratiatingly, "Big brother, I'm so bored here. I can't do anything.
Could you let me go pray in front of the holy statue? I haven't prayed for a long time, and I feel uneasy inside."
When cultists were together, their most common activity was kneeling together to pray. It could be considered devout. Lu Yuan had seen a prayer hall while passing through the corridor, so this request wasn't out of place.
The food-delivering cultist nodded. "I'll report it to the guard."
After saying that, he left.
The food here was extremely poor. Even someone like Lu Yuan, who wasn't picky, found it hard to swallow.
As he chewed reluctantly, he organized his thoughts.
From the current situation, the cult's base in Jiangzhou City was far larger than the one in Ningcheng. The Ningcheng base had only been an abandoned factory with a little over ten cultists.
But this place covered a large area, and what Lu Yuan had seen was only the underground section.
The cult had been operating in Jiangzhou for a long time. Ji Yin's suspicion that Jiangzhou was the main base of the surrounding region's cult wasn't unfounded.
Lu Yuan's mission was to investigate the situation of the Jiangzhou cult and their recent plans.
Based on the information he currently had, the cultists' target was the upcoming college entrance exam. As for how they intended to act, Lu Yuan had no clue yet. From what he knew, the exam's security measures were quite strict. Just a few cult cultivators would likely find it difficult to cause any major disruption.
As for the location of the main base and the identity of the leader, he still knew nothing. Guo Huai was very cautious—Lu Yuan had been brought here while unconscious. There was no way to know where this place was, or even whether it was still within Jiangzhou City.
As for the leader's true identity, it definitely wouldn't be Guo Huai. He was just a guard, on the same level as Zhang Baocheng.
After sorting out his thoughts, Lu Yuan made some plans for what to do next. He couldn't just stay here waiting forever. Although studying quietly here wasn't bad, this wasn't a study room—he didn't even know if he would leave alive.
A turning point came quickly. With a series of approaching footsteps, the man who had delivered the food returned.
"The guard has recognized your firm faith and approved your request to go to the prayer hall."
"Thank you, big brother."
The man opened the door, and Lu Yuan walked out. At that moment, he saw the man bend down beside his bed, and he immediately understood.
"Brother, let me handle that. How could I trouble you with such a thing?"
There was no drainage system in the room, so the man delivering food was also responsible for emptying the chamber pot. Lu Yuan hurried to grab the filthy pot himself. This action made the man quite pleased.
"Not bad, kid. From now on, just call me Brother Cheng."
"Brother Cheng!"
With Brother Cheng leading the way, the two of them first went to the restroom at the end of the corridor to empty the chamber pot.
"Leave the pot here for now. Take it back with you later."
Then they turned back and walked a few steps to the entrance of the prayer hall—the same room Lu Yuan had seen when he was first brought down.
"Go in, but don't leave. When the time's up, I'll come get you."
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