『 [ You want to detain us? ]
Hearing Feixiao's words, Stelle was startled.
[ It is not detention. ]
[ I will request a Judge from the Commission's Record-Keeping Department to record a detailed testimony from you all using the Karma Mirror. This is to fill in the gaps in the report and to silence the protesting voices within the Alliance. ]
Feixiao shook her head and explained.
[ …I have no objection. ]
Dan Heng expressed his agreement.
[ Um… will you still let us go back…? ]
Stelle was somewhat hesitant.
[ Are you worried I will go back on my word and lock you away in the Shackling Prison? ]
[ There is absolutely no need for that… If I wanted to do that, I would have done it already. ]
[ Once the testimony is complete, you are free to come and go, and you will be treated with the same courtesy as always. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Alright then. As long as it's not jail time, going to see the Shackling Prison to broaden my horizons isn't a bad idea."
March 7th: "Oh no! Does that mean I won't get a chance to see it?"
Yunli: "The Shackling Prison is just a giant jail. It's pitch black and gloomy inside. What's there to see?"
Yunli: "Surely practicing your swordplay is much more important!"
Furina de Fontaine: "But at this point, hasn't Miss March 7th already finished her sword practice?"
Hu Tao: "That's right. Miss March 7th should have just exposed the Borisin's disguised plot with Yanqing and Miss Yunli, right?"
Hu Tao: "And now she's preparing to rush back?"
Stelle: "But by the time they rush back, Dan Heng and I will probably be long gone."
Stelle: "Tsk, March is clearly destined to miss out on visiting the Shackling Prison."
Qingque: "What's there to fear? Anyway, in this video, everyone can see it."
Qingque: "And it's much safer than visiting in person!"
....
『 [ Then we shall do as the Luminous General requests— ]
Jing Yuan nodded in agreement to Feixiao's proposal.
[ Furthermore, I have another important task for my visit to the Luofu. ]
[ If the testimony stamped by the Ten-Lords Commission is to suppress the opposing voices among the Alliance's upper echelon… ]
[ Then I must ask General Jing Yuan to listen to the voices of the Foxians within the Yaoqing. ]
Feixiao shifted the topic, beginning to speak of another matter.
[ Is the Luminous General here for Hoolay? ]
Jing Yuan guessed what Feixiao was going to say.
[ Precisely. ]
[ I want to take away the Borisin Pack-Father, Hoolay, who is imprisoned in the Luofu's Shackling Prison, and transfer him to the Yaoqing's custody. ]
[ The recent movements of the Borisin are enough to prove they have grand designs. ]
[ We must respond early. ]
Feixiao explained to Jing Yuan, wanting to take Hoolay away.
[ Hoolay is a mortal enemy of the Foxians. It is only reasonable for Foxians to suppress and guard him. ]
[ Since General Feixiao trusts the Luofu's handling, the Luofu naturally returns that trust to the General's handling. ]
[ What does Master Huaiyan think? ]
Regarding this request, Jing Yuan pondered for a moment before looking at Huaiyan, wanting to hear his opinion.
[ This old man was originally worried this would be a battle of words. ]
[ It seems I worried too much! ]
[ Since both of you have made your decisions and resolved each other's difficult problems, that is truly for the best! ]
Huaiyan clapped his hands, looking very pleased that Feixiao and Jing Yuan could show mutual understanding.
[ Regarding the transfer of Hoolay, I will dispatch my subordinates, Jiaoqiu and Moze, to inspect the condition of his cell first, to facilitate the subsequent escort. ]
[ If there are no other questions, shall we begin? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Silver Wolf: "They settled it just like that?"
Silver Wolf: "They really have a tacit understanding…"
March 7th: "Speaking of which, have the three generals still not noticed anything unusual up to this point?"
March 7th: "Are those Borisin disguised that well?"
Stelle: "Even though they haven't noticed anything unusual, Dan Heng and I, along with Jiaoqiu and the others, are about to go to the Shackling Prison."
Stelle: "In fact, Jiaoqiu and his partner are going specifically to visit Hoolay."
Stelle: "They should be able to spot some anomalies, right?"
Stelle: "If absolutely no anomalies are found, then it means the goal of those Borisin isn't this Hoolay at all."
Feixiao: "That seems highly unlikely."
Feixiao: "To the Borisin, the only thing of value on the entire Luofu is Hoolay."
Feixiao: "They took such a huge risk to come up here. To say they just had a lapse in judgment and came up to cause trouble on purpose doesn't make sense to me."
Furina de Fontaine: "But why do I feel like… attempting a rescue operation while three Generals of the Reignbow are present is the stupidest thing imaginable…?"
Hu Tao: "Indeed!"
Hu Tao: "No matter how strong this Hoolay is, he can't possibly be stronger than an Emanator, right?"
Hu Tao: "Even if, for the sake of argument, this Hoolay is as strong as an Emanator, could he possibly be stronger than three Emanators combined?"
Paimon: "I don't think so."
Paimon: "Otherwise, he shouldn't be sitting in a jail cell right now."
Qingque: "That's true."
Qingque: "But what if, among those coming to rescue Hoolay, there are some other experts mixed in?"
Qingque: "Didn't the generals just say so?"
Qingque: "Right now, the entire Borisin race seems to be controlled by the Lord Ravager Phantylia!"
Qingque: "So if two Lord Ravagers suddenly pop out in a moment, that would also seem quite reasonable, wouldn't it?"
March 7th: "To be fair, only so much time has passed. Phantylia's injuries might not even be fully healed yet."
March 7th: "She probably wouldn't dare to show her face, right?"
Dan Heng: "If other Lord Ravagers really do show up, it will be even more troublesome."
Dan Heng: "After all, in terms of pure combat power, Phantylia might be at the bottom…"
Dan Heng: "The other unfamiliar Lord Ravagers are all far more difficult to deal with!"
....
『 [ My sincere apologies, Stelle. ]
[ The deposition in the Shackling Prison won't take up too much of your time. ]
[ I will summon a guide to escort you both to the Judges of the Ten-Lords Commission's Record-Keeping Department. You only need to leave your testimony, and then you may return. No need to worry. ]
Jing Yuan came before Stelle and Dan Heng, explaining the situation to them.
[ We shall do as the General says. ]
Dan Heng had no objections.
[ Then shall we set off? ]
Stelle was already prepared.
Subsequently, Jing Yuan summoned a specialized starskiff, watching the two of them board.
A moment later, the starskiff carrying Dan Heng and Stelle arrived at a rather familiar place.
[ By order of General Jing Yuan, we have opened the entrance, prepared the documents, and are here to guide you. ]
[ The Judges of the Record-Keeping Department are also aware of your purpose. ]
At a swirling vortex entrance, a guide was already waiting. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Wait, isn't this Scalegorge Waterscape?"
Stelle: "The entrance to the Shackling Prison is here?"
March 7th: "The entrance to the Shackling Prison… Could it be this strange, glowing vortex?"
Hanya: "Not quite. It is merely a passage to the outside world."
Hanya: "The true entrance is something you will only see after passing through the vortex."
Furina de Fontaine: "This vortex doesn't usually manifest, does it?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Otherwise, wouldn't just anyone be able to enter?"
Hanya: "Naturally. This passage requires special methods to open."
Hu Tao: "It seems the security measures are very strict."
Hu Tao: "It doesn't look like a place that can be easily infiltrated."
Yanqing: "We may be panicking over nothing."
Yanqing: "Maybe those Borisin, even up until now, haven't figured out how to enter the Shackling Prison?"
Yunli: "It would be great if that were the case."
Yunli: "But seeing how prepared those Borisin looked earlier, it doesn't seem like they have no way…"
Yunli: "After all, they've already started planning their escape route for after their plot succeeds."
Lumine: "Wild guessing is useless."
Lumine: "We'll know once Miss Stelle and the others go in to take a look in a moment."
....
『 Under the guidance of the messenger, Stelle and Dan Heng passed through the faintly glowing vortex before them, arriving at the true entrance of the Shackling Prison.
[ The Shackling Prison… To think I would return here after all these years. ]
Looking at the massive gates of the Shackling Prison before him, Dan Heng's expression was momentarily complex.
[ Dan Heng… ]
Stelle looked at Dan Heng's expression, feeling a bit worried.
[ No need to worry about me. ]
Dan Heng shook his head, his expression returning to normal. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
March 7th: "I almost forgot. Before Dan Heng was exiled from the Luofu, didn't he spend a long time locked up in the Shackling Prison?"
Stelle: "I remember it that way. He spent a very long time in that pitch-black jail."
Paimon: "Why was Mr. Dan Heng locked up in jail in the first place?"
Paimon: "And why was he exiled from the Xianzhou Luofu?"
Lumine: "Wasn't Mr. Dan Heng some incredibly powerful High Elder in his past life?"
Lumine: "But what is going on now…"
Stelle: "It's hard to explain in detail. It involves a lot of the Xianzhou Alliance's history."
Stelle: "To put it simply, Dan Heng's past life, Imbibitor Lunae, committed a grave sin, so he was sentenced to the punishment of rebirth."
Stelle: "After rebirth, he became the current Dan Heng."
Stelle: "And because the sin he committed was so great, he was exiled even after rebirth?"
Stelle: "Anyway, that's the gist of it. You can understand it that way."
Xiangling: "A person as upright as Mr. Dan Heng actually committed a grave sin in his past life?!"
Xiangling: "I find that a bit hard to believe…"
March 7th: "Regarding that, I recall there was a reason…"
March 7th: "It seems he wanted to do something good, but his good intentions ended up causing a disaster!"
Silver Wolf: "I get it. It must be some classic, melodramatic plot again."
Stelle: "Cough, it is indeed a bit melodramatic."
Stelle: "But it's completely in the past now."
Stelle: "That was all hundreds of years ago."
Furina de Fontaine: "No wonder Mr. Dan Heng had such a complex expression seeing this place."
Furina de Fontaine: "Revisiting an old haunt, but that haunt is the prison where he was once locked up… That feeling must be very strange…"
Dan Heng: "It does feel a bit strange indeed, but mostly it's a mixture of complex emotions."
....
『 [ If you two are ready, I shall open the prison gates. ]
At this moment, the guide reminded them.
[ Wait, the Shackling Prison is also inside Scalegorge Waterscape? ]
Stelle looked around, unable to resist asking the question she had been curious about.
[ Strictly speaking, the Shackling Prison exists across multiple delve spaces simultaneously. The ancient sea is merely one of the places where it overlaps. ]
[ Guests, please enter. ]
The guide made a gesture of invitation.
[ Yes, we are ready. Thank you. ]
Stelle and Dan Heng followed behind the guide. Then, under their gaze, the grand and imposing gates of the Shackling Prison slowly swung open.
The two stepped through the gates, entering the interior of the Shackling Prison. Stelle was immediately greeted by various magnificent and ancient architectural structures, which surprised her slightly. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "So this is the inside of the Shackling Prison?"
Stelle: "My goodness, it really is pitch black!"
March 7th: "…This atmosphere, this decor, these cold iron chains… I suppose it truly is a prison."
March 7th: "Just looking at it makes me shiver."
Hu Tao: "This is a prison??"
Hu Tao: "It's this grand?"
Yanfei: "Is 'grand' really the right word to use here?"
Zhongli: "What the Director likely means to express is that the interior of this Shackling Prison appears very magnificent and solemn."
Guinaifen: "So this is what the inside of the Shackling Prison looks like!"
Guinaifen: "It really opens one's eyes!"
Paimon: "It's a bit scary…"
Paimon: "It's so huge inside, and there are incomprehensible tower-like structures everywhere…"
Paimon: "It gives off an atmosphere that is both gloomy and solemn."
Lumine: "Paimon, look at it from another perspective."
Lumine: "Don't you think this looks more like an ancient ruin with treasure?"
Lumine: "If this were a ruin in Teyvat, I wouldn't doubt for a second that we could find heaps of treasure chests here."
Paimon: "Eh?"
Paimon: "Now that you put it that way, I'm actually not scared anymore!"
Xueyi: "Treasure?"
Xueyi: "I am afraid you are overthinking."
Xueyi: "The Shackling Prison holds only suppressed, heinous criminals. There is no treasure."
Furina de Fontaine: "Did you guys notice?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Following Miss Stelle's gaze just now, I think I saw the figures of Mr. Jiaoqiu and Mr. Moze?"
Hotaru: "Mhm, I saw them too."
Hotaru: "It seems they arrived at the Shackling Prison at a very similar time. Mr. Jiaoqiu and his partner also look like they just got here not long ago."
Qingque: "These two are here to visit Hoolay, right?"
Qingque: "I wonder if they can spot any anomalies?"
Moze: "Jiaoqiu has a very keen sense of smell. Perhaps he can catch a scent."
Jiaoqiu: "You're clearly the one in charge of intelligence, so why make it sound like this is my job!"
Moze: "My nose is not as sharp as yours."
Moze: "It is difficult for me to distinguish disguised Borisin."
Jiaoqiu: "Ah… you really know how to find excuses, kid!"
....
『 The screen shifted to Jiaoqiu and Moze.
[ What are you looking at? ]
Jiaoqiu had just spotted Stelle and Dan Heng entering, which puzzled Moze, who was opposite him.
[ The Luofu's Shackling Prison… is entirely different from the Yaoqing's. To think it is submerged underwater. ]
Jiaoqiu did not explain, but instead smiled and spoke of the Shackling Prison's structure.
[ Whether in the sky or underwater, escaping is as easy as turning one's hand. ]
Hearing Jiaoqiu's words, Moze spoke in a serious tone.
[ Kid, is your old prison-breaking habit acting up again? ]
[ Stop looking. You are a free man now. ]
[ If the Judges catch you harboring any illicit intentions, they'll lock you up for a few hundred years sooner or later. ]
Hearing Moze's words, Jiaoqiu shook his head and laughed.
[ In a few days, you will see me here again. ]
Moze said indifferently. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "My goodness, such big words?"
Stelle: "Do you treat the Shackling Prison like your own home, coming and going as you please? (funny face.jpg)"
Moze: "Well, as a home it is a bit too quiet, which I do not quite like."
Moze: "But it is indeed not difficult to get out."
Feixiao: "Moze, you kid, behave yourself."
Feixiao: "Acting like this makes the Shackling Prison's security look like a mere decoration."
Moze: "The security of the Shackling Prison is very strong, but I have my ways of getting out."
Silver Wolf: "Hahaha, this is hilarious."
Silver Wolf: "What a straightforward guy."
Hu Tao: "Mr. Moze's confidence doesn't seem fake."
Hu Tao: "Are you a master of stealth?"
Qingque: "Just look at his attire, isn't it obvious?"
Qingque: "But if you always walk by the river, how can you not get your shoes wet?"
Qingque: "I don't believe he can go forever without making a mistake."
....
『 [ Escorting Hoolay back to the Yaoqing is of great significance not only to the Yaoqing Foxians, but also to the General. Keep your guard up. ]
Jiaoqiu stopped joking with Moze, giving him a serious reminder. He then turned around to face the approaching figure.
[ Greetings. My name is Xueyi, and I am here on standby by order of the Ten-Lords Commission's Detention Department. ] 』
『 ....』