Chapter 121 - 118: Prisoner of the Eternal Corridor

Chapter 121: Chapter 118: Prisoner of the Eternal Corridor

This was the Sea Coachman’s Compass.

If a user bonded with the Compass, their Life Level would increase, and they would become the new Sea Coachman. In addition to possessing immense Extraordinary Ocean Power, they could also summon the Sea Train.

Of course, besides ’bonding’, the Compass had another basic ability.

It could point the way. The needle would point to any place you wanted to go, or any person you wanted to find.

Jiang Chaosheng thought to himself:

’The creator of the Eternal Corridor.’

The Eternal Corridor was, in essence, a painting.

As long as he found the creator hidden within the painting, he could contain this Taboo Item.

The needle in the Compass spun wildly before finally stopping, pointing toward a tunnel to the southeast.

Jiang Chaosheng walked toward it, stepping into the dense darkness.

He was quite curious.

’Just what kind of being could create the Eternal Corridor, a scroll painting that held an entire independent space?’

...

As he ventured deeper into the darkness, he couldn’t see anything around him.

In the distance, there was a flicker of light.

It was obvious there might be ghosts ahead.

Behind him, Daji whispered:

"The resentment ahead is extremely strong. Be careful, My Lord."

Jiang Chaosheng nodded slightly and walked toward the light.

He drew closer, stepping into the source of the light.

After a flash of white light, the scene changed.

Jiang Chaosheng slowly frowned.

’Just a moment ago, I was in the Worker’s Department Store. How is this... a prison?’

It wasn’t a modern jail, but an ancient one, with straw-covered floors and rats scurrying everywhere.

The prison was quite large and brightly lit with candles placed all around.

A peculiar fragrance also wafted through the air.

Daji sniffed the air.

"Soul-Calming Incense."

Daji looked at Jiang Chaosheng and explained,

"It has the effect of soothing souls."

Jiang Chaosheng noticed the incense burners in every corner of the prison.

He suppressed the urge to snatch them.

’Since the resentment here is so strong, it means the master of the Eternal Corridor doesn’t want the Ghost Souls here to run rampant.’

’It’s best for an outsider like me not to get my hands dirty over something that even the creator is worried about.’

"AHHH!!!"

Jiang Chaosheng heard waves of blood-curdling screams.

He glanced at the Compass.

The screams were coming from just ahead. He had to pass through there to find the creator of the Eternal Corridor.

Jiang Chaosheng walked in that direction.

It was a torture chamber.

Jiang Chaosheng stood at the entrance, looking at the scene inside.

Inside was a group of women. They wore clothes of fine gauze, with bodices underneath and thin robes over them.

They were beautiful. In the modern era, every single one would be a great beauty, far surpassing any internet celebrity.

Jiang Chaosheng had minored in the history of Xia Kingdom fashion and recognized this as the attire of Song Dynasty concubines. The saying "gauze as fine as mist" was a perfect description of them.

These Song Dynasty concubines held horsewhips, weeping as they lashed a group of Alien Race men dressed in sheepskin.

The screams were coming from those men.

A thoughtful look appeared in Jiang Chaosheng’s eyes.

’Song Dynasty concubines?’

’Alien Race men in sheepskin?’

’Are they... the sufferers from that dark era?’

Their identities were becoming clear.

The question was, why were they in the Eternal Corridor?

Daji reminded him,

"My Lord, every one of them is a thousand-year-old Fierce Ghost. Be careful."

Jiang Chaosheng walked forward.

The women of the Song Dynasty acted as if they didn’t see him, letting him pass through.

Or perhaps, punishing the Alien Race men in sheepskin with their whips was far more important than sparing him a glance.

Fox Fire surged in Daji’s hand as she prepared to burn these thousand-year-old female ghosts to ashes.

Jiang Chaosheng grabbed Daji’s hand.

Daji froze for a moment.

"My Lord?"

Jiang Chaosheng was silent for a moment.

"They’ve suffered enough. Let’s go."

Daji didn’t understand, but Jiang Chaosheng’s words were more important than anything. She obediently followed behind him.

Jiang Chaosheng continued walking forward.

He arrived at the next prison cell.

This one was different from the last.

Red curtains hung everywhere, and against a wall stood a luxurious pearwood bed.

A young woman, who looked to be eighteen or nineteen, was lying on the bed.

The woman was stunning, far more beautiful than the other concubines. Her beauty could have overshadowed an entire era.

She lay on her side, fast asleep, with several Palace Maids attending to her.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, clutched her head, and let out a pained shriek.

The piercing scream felt like it was tearing through Jiang Chaosheng’s mind.

Daji said coldly,

"How noisy!"

Daji raised a ball of Fox Fire in her hand.

Jiang Chaosheng pressed her hand down, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"Don’t."

’This fox, why is she so hot-tempered?!’

Daji looked at Jiang Chaosheng suspiciously.

’My Lord is definitely not a soft-hearted person. Why is he being so lenient with these female ghosts?’

Jiang Chaosheng pointed to the sides of the cell.

Daji followed his gesture.

Several Palace Maids hurried to the red curtains, pulling them aside to reveal the scene behind.

In one area, six men from the Song Dynasty knelt in prison uniforms.

Heavy cangues were locked around their necks. An inscription on them read:

"Brought ruin to the nation and calamity to the people, worse than pigs and dogs."

The Palace Maids, holding longswords, repeatedly stabbed at the six men.

Their pleas for mercy were endless:

"Princess Xunde, spare us!"

"Princess, spare us!"

In another area stood a row of men clad in sheepskin.

Several Palace Maids held curved blades, carving at their crotches.

Bloody, mangled messes fell to the ground amidst heart-rending screams.

Only then did a look of relief appear on the woman’s face. Attended to by the Palace Maids, she lay down again and gradually fell asleep.

Jiang Chaosheng said,

"Let’s go. The people here are no threat."

Daji followed Jiang Chaosheng toward the end of the darkness.

...

A famous line of poetry surfaced in Jiang Chaosheng’s mind.

"The humiliation of Jingkang, yet unavenged."

The women here were all pitiful souls from that era.

During the late Northern Song Dynasty, they were imprisoned in the Laundry Bureau and forced to serve as the cheapest prostitutes. Even the Empress Dowager of that time was no exception.

The nation-toppling beauty from before was likely the most tragic of them all.

The daughter of Emperor Huizong of Song, Princess Xunde, Zhao Fuguo.

She died from being torn apart.

For a most noble princess, such a death was absurdly horrific.

Jiang Chaosheng frowned in thought, reviewing the events that had occurred since he entered the Eternal Corridor.

First, he had seen a group of East Sakura People.

Those East Sakura People from a century ago had their souls imprisoned here for all eternity.

Next, he saw the Alien Race men suffering various tortures at the hands of the Song Dynasty women.

’It seems the creator of this painting wants to seek justice for the suffering of the Xia Kingdom.’

’Who could he be?’

As he was thinking, the Compass needle trembled violently and pointed in a new direction.

Jiang Chaosheng followed the needle’s direction.

...

This was an antique, elegant hall.

It was incredibly luxurious.

The pillars, tables, chairs, and bed were all crafted from solid gold, and the walls were inlaid with coral and jewels.

In front of a golden table sat a well-dressed, fat old man.

He was absurdly fat, weighing well over three hundred pounds, with a belly that hung past his knees.

He had curly hair, deep-set eyes, and a wiry beard.

The table was laden with delicacies from the mountains and seas.

The fat old man was starving. He grabbed an apple and began to gnaw on it ravenously.

However, the apple was made of solid gold, and he couldn’t even make a dent in it.

Strangely, the Golden Apple exuded a rich, fruity fragrance.

The fat old man was overcome with gluttony, biting down harder and harder until his teeth shattered.

Just then, the fat old man sensed something and whipped his head around.

His gaze fell upon Jiang Chaosheng, and he roared furiously,

"You peasant! How dare you disturb me!"

Jiang Chaosheng asked,

"Who are you?"

The fat old man snatched a large golden saber from the table and bellowed,

"I am the Emperor of Great Yan!"

Jiang Chaosheng raised an eyebrow slightly.

’Emperor of Great Yan?’

’It sounds familiar, but was there ever such an Emperor in the history of the Xia Kingdom?’

Just then, the fat old man noticed Daji. A fiery lust appeared in his eyes, and his lips moved as he mumbled woodenly,

"The Imperial Consort is truly innocent!"

Realization dawned on Jiang Chaosheng.

’The main culprit of the An Lushan Rebellion!’

’This is the Ghost Soul of An Lushan!’

The ’Imperial Consort’ he spoke of was Yang Yuhuan.

The fat old man raised his saber and charged forward like a mountain of flesh, muttering deliriously,

"Cleanse the sovereign’s side, execute Yang Guozhong!"