Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

Chapter 631: Chapter 631: Apprentice Prison Guard Wang Chen (Part 1)

Rain in the streets, soft as butter, the grass looks close but is distant when neared.

Amidst the drizzling rain falling from the sky, Wang Chen, holding an oil-paper umbrella, walked along the long street.

Unhurried and calm, neither too fast nor too slow.

Having been in Yongle Immortal City for half a month, he still hadn’t had his fill of the city’s unique landscapes.

There was wind and rain in the Immortal City, said to be the outcome of a Nascent Soul True Immortal’s stance against the common consensus; otherwise, with the help of an array, it could ensure uniform seasons all year round.

Wang Chen also liked this weather variability, as it was in accordance with the natural order.

He halted in front of a tavern with the sign “Xu” hanging over the entrance.

He folded his oil-paper umbrella and entered the tavern, addressing the proprietor behind the counter, “Shopkeeper, please serve me a pot of Jinghong wine and half a pound of sliced wild ox tendon.”

While speaking, he placed a Middle Spirit Stone on the counter, “Please also pack the same amount to go.”

“Alrighty!”

The plump tavern owner beamed, “Please wait a moment, guest, your wine and meat will be served shortly.”

Wang Chen nodded and took a seat by the window.

A steaming cup of Spiritual Tea was brought to him by the waitstaff, and as he sipped, he reflected on the experiences of the past half-month.

It all felt somewhat unreal.

Half a month ago, Wang Chen ascended to Yongle Immortal City with the Gold Ticket Pill Book. In order to secure a spot in the Immortal Register, he sought out a job at the Forbidden Prison Department and unexpectedly, a Golden Core True Person took him directly to the dungeon.

It was only later that Wang Chen learned that this True Person was named Lu Peng and was one of the twelve Golden Core Prisons in the Forbidden Prison Department.

And so he became an apprentice prison guard in the Yongle Dungeon, currently interning in Bing Six District.

Yongle Dungeon was spread across nine levels, divided into areas labeled Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, and Ren, each area further split into nine districts, totaling eighty-one districts.

The lower the level, the more dangerous the prisoners it held and the more severe the conditions!

Although the working conditions were quite dreadful, the benefits for a prison guard were rather good; even as an “intern”, Wang Chen could enjoy a schedule of three days on, one off.

There was also free housing, three meals a day, and a job subsidy!

Most importantly, as long as he could successfully become a “permanent” employee and serve three years without major faults in the Forbidden Prison Department, he could apply for a place in the Immortal Register.

For Wang Chen, he really couldn’t ask for more.

Today was his day off.

A pot of Jinghong wine, warm just to the point of perfection, and a plate of evenly sliced wild ox meat were placed on the table.

Wang Chen poured himself a cup from the pot.

He drank it down in one go.

The wine was a deep red, fiery going down the throat, offering an intense and satisfying heat.

The wild ox tendon meat was chewy, with a flavor that was just right, leaving a lingering taste that greatly satisfied his appetite.

This wild ox meat and Jinghong wine were specialties of Xu’s tavern, and Wang Chen, having tasted them a few times and finding them excellent, would come here for a treat every time he had a day off.

Of course, the food and drink weren’t cheap, but living in the Immortal City was inherently difficult, with prices incomparable to those on earth.

The tavern was bustling; soon after Wang Chen sat down, the place was almost entirely full. @@novelbin@@

New patrons looking for a seat glanced around and seeing the space opposite Wang Chen, moved to share his table.

But when they noticed the wooden plaque hanging from Wang Chen’s waist, inscribed with the character “Prison,” they immediately changed their expression and kept their distance.

Wang Chen had long grown accustomed to this.

The residents—or rather, the cultivators—of the Immortal City mostly avoided the Forbidden Prison Department like the plague; seeing Wang Chen with the prison guard badge, the typical reactions and attitudes were fear, disdain, and aversion.

He didn’t even need to keep a low profile; others isolated him outright!

I felt like I had become one of those rabid beasts.

Wang Chen didn’t mind. After having his fill of food and drink, he carried the packed meat and wine and casually made his way back to the Forbidden Prison Department.

He soon arrived at Bing Six District.

The area of Bing Six District was vast, housing nearly a hundred cells and numerous dormitories for the prison guards to live and work in.

Wang Chen knocked on the door of one of those dormitories.

An old cultivator with graying hair was sitting on a meditation cushion. The moment he saw Wang Chen, he sniffed the air and said, “Let me guess, Little Wang, did you bring over Xu’s special roast wine and savage bull tendons?”

“You got it!”

Wang Chen gave the old cultivator a thumbs-up.

Then he handed over the packed meat and wine.

“Not bad, not bad at all!”

The old cultivator’s face lit up with a smile, and he hastily unwrapped the greasy paper package, grabbing two slices of meat and stuffing them into his mouth.

He devoured the food with the speed of a whirlwind, polishing off a pot of wine and a package of meat in the blink of an eye.

Afterward, he licked his oily fingers and complained, “Little Wang, bring more meat and wine next time. This is hardly enough to get stuck in my teeth. You’re really not showing respect for your elders by making my mouth water like this!”

Wang Chen responded with a wry smile to the old man’s joking complaint, “A Golden Core cultivator doesn’t have that many extra spirit stones, you know. And you’re well aware of how expensive Xu’s roast wine and bull tendons are.”

“As a lowly trainee prison guard, this is all I can afford.”

The old cultivator before him was named Dan Lingfeng, a high-tier Purple Mansion cultivator. It was said that he had worked at the Forbidden Prison Department for thirty years—a true veteran trickster.

When Lu Peng had tossed Wang Chen into Bing Six District, Dan Lingfeng was the one assigned by the warden to mentor Wang Chen.

With this old prison guard’s guidance, Wang Chen learned a lot.

The tips that Dan Lingfeng gave were invaluable for Wang Chen to adapt so quickly to the dungeon environment.

Thus, every so often, Wang Chen would buy some good wine and good meat to “show his respect” to this old hand of the Martial World.

It always paid off in the end.

The old cultivator chuckled. “From what you’re saying, do you want to get regularized sooner?”

The probationary period for a trainee prison guard is one to three months, depending on their performance, to decide if and when they can get regularized.

It wasn’t impossible to get regularized earlier.

After all, the benefits for a regular prison guard were undoubtedly much better than for a trainee.

The former had a salary—and a hefty one at that!

Before Wang Chen could reply, Dan Lingfeng snorted, “Young man, you really have no idea how the world works. Do you think if you get regularized, you can keep working in Bing Six District?”

“Chances are, they’ll assign you to the lower three areas because they’ve never been fully staffed!”

In the nine-layer dungeon of the Forbidden Prison Department, the upper three areas are the A, B, and C districts, the middle three are the D, E, and F districts, and the lower three are the G, H, and I districts.

“Thinking you could survive three years in the lower areas to earn your Immortal Register?”

“You wish!”

Having had some wine, Dan Lingfeng was a bit more talkative. “Let me tell you straight, out of ten people who go to the lower three areas, at the most, only one or two can hold out for a year. Those who can last three years are one in a hundred!”

“The longer your internship here, the better. Ideally, after getting regularized you could move to the middle three areas. At least there you’ve got a much better chance of surviving.”

Having finished talking, the old cultivator’s head drooped, and he fell fast asleep!

———

The first update is here.