flstandardbreds Chapter 342 Zhou Cang's Tragic Fate
Chapter 342 Zhou Cang's Tragic Fate
The prisoner in the cell was none other than Zhou Cang, Guan Yu's personal bodyguard.
After Guan Yu's raid on Jianye, Zhou Cang became the messenger between Guan Yu and Liu Bei, helping them exchange letters several times. The last time was when Deng Zhi came, and Guan Yu was marrying Xiao Qiao.
At that time, Liu Bei wanted Guan Yu to retreat to Jiaozhou and return to Bashu if the situation was not good. However, Guan Yu felt that his troops were strong and he was prepared to fight the Wei army head-on and defend Jiangdong. So he ordered Zhou Cang to send a message to Liu Bei to report on the situation in Jiangdong. Then he never returned.
Guan Xing thought Zhou Cang had gone with Liu Bei on the Northern Expedition, and never dreamed that he would appear in the prison of Linru County.
Moreover, Zhou Cang was incredibly calm; even though he was in jail, he could still sleep so soundly. Guan Xing's loud exclamations didn't wake him at all. If it weren't for the constant rise and fall of his chest, Guan Xing would have thought Zhou Cang was already a corpse.
Seeing that Guan Xing hadn't woken up, the jailer opened the cell door, went in, squatted down in front of Zhou Cang, and shoved and pounded on him, saying, "Wake up... wake up..."
Zhou Cang was finally woken up. He struggled to open his eyes and looked at Guan Xing with a blank expression, clearly still asleep.
Guan Xing didn't urge him any further, but instead watched with a smile, wanting to see when he would be fully awake.
The two stared at each other for a good seven or eight breaths before Zhou Cang remembered Guan Xing's identity. He sat up abruptly as if he had risen from the dead and exclaimed, "Second Young Master, it's you! It's actually you!"
As she spoke, she reached out her hands to touch Guan Xing, but halfway through, she seemed to remember something and abruptly pulled them back. After a moment of stunned silence, she raised her hand and slapped herself. Feeling the pain, she was overjoyed and grabbed Guan Xing's shoulders, shouting excitedly, "Second Young Master, it really is you! I'm not dreaming! You really came to save me!"
After saying that, she hugged Guan Xing tightly and laughed wildly with a sob in her voice, "Second Young Master, I missed you so much! I thought I would never see you and Lord Jun again, waaaaah..."
Zhou Cang acted like a child who had suffered a great injustice and was finally seeing his parents. He was crying and laughing all the time, and he was completely out of control. He clung to Guan Xing and wouldn't let go. He smeared all the filth that had been accumulating for who knows how long on Guan Xing's body.
Guan Xing, disregarding his displeasure, patted his back and comforted him, "Alright, alright, it's nothing now. Don't worry, let's go home."
It took Zhou Cang a full quarter of an hour to calm himself down. He stepped back and looked at Guan Xing with an awkward smile, saying, "Second Young Master, I'm sorry, I lost my composure."
Guan Xing laughed and said, "It's alright. If I had experienced something like what you did, I would probably be even more flustered than you. By the way, didn't you go back to deliver a letter to the King? How did you end up in Linru Prison? We all thought you went on a northern expedition with the King."
The entire Jingzhou lies between Linru and Bashu. It doesn't make sense that Zhou Cang is imprisoned here. What exactly did he go through during this time?
Mentioning this, Zhou Cang couldn't help but feel grief-stricken, and said with a sob, "That day, I was ordered by the Lord to go back and report to the King on the Lord's wedding and the stabilization of Jiangdong, so that the King could focus on the Northern Expedition. However, the King was worried about the safety of the Lord and the Second Prince, so he sent me back to tell you that if Jiangdong could be defended, it should be defended; if it couldn't be defended, it should be retreated. Living is the most important thing."
"But this road is too difficult to travel. It goes through the entire Jingzhou. In order to pass through the Wu army's checkpoints smoothly, I always mingled with the caravans. Passing through Jingzhou went smoothly, but when we entered Linru, we were robbed by a mountain Yue chieftain named You Chong. The caravan's goods were stolen, and all the caravan members were captured."
"You Chong?" Guan Xing asked in astonishment, "Are you sure?"
If it really is You Chong, you should be locked up in the mountain stronghold, why are you locked up in the county jail?
You Chong, a bandit, did not have the ability to freely enter and leave the county jail.
Zhou Cang continued, "The other party used the name You Chong. At first, I didn't suspect anything. It wasn't until I was thrown into the county jail that I realized something was wrong. Finally, I learned from the whispers of the jailers that the You Chong was actually Pan Zhang in disguise. Pan Zhang had robbed passing caravans by pretending to be a Yue people more than once or twice, but I never dreamed that this would happen to me. Damn Pan Zhang."
Guan Xing was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, "Damn it..."
This Pan Zhang is truly incompetent at everything except making money. He's got a knack for both robbery and setting up military markets—quite the business genius!
Why the hell do you want to be a general? Wouldn't it be better to just become a bandit or a merchant?
Guan Xing was speechless at the incompetence and irresponsibility of General Pan Zhang. He sighed and said, "Then you'll just stay in jail obediently. Haven't you thought about escaping or anything?"
Zhou Cang asked in bewilderment, "Escape from prison? Is it that easy to escape from prison?"
Guan Xing got up and retreated to the fence. Then, with a running start, he rushed to the other side, leaped up, and smashed into the wall. The wall was smashed open, creating a large hole in the shape of a human. Guan Xing also fell into the ruins.
Guan Xing stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "Isn't it out now? Was it that difficult?"
He had noticed a dozen finger-width cracks on the wall outside the prison when he was wandering around the county government office. The cracks were so numerous that they looked like shattered glass, as if they would break at the slightest touch.
Upon inquiry, it was learned that this prison was built forty or fifty years ago, older than Zhuge Liang himself. At the time, it was wondered who could be imprisoned in such a dilapidated cell.
He never dreamed that a cell weaker than paper could imprison Guan Yu's personal bodyguard. Damn it...
Zhou Cang stared blankly at the human-shaped hole that Guan Xing had created, his mouth agape as he pointed at the hole, his fingers trembling as he said, "This...this...is this cell just for show?"
He could break through any wall that Guan Xing could, but he was trapped in a prison that he could easily jump out of with a lift of his leg for several months.
Guan Xing explained, "How sturdy can the prison cells in a county government office be? Linru is a small county with tight finances. The county officials can't even afford to repair the main gate of the county government office. Who would give money to improve the living conditions of the prisoners?"
"So the prisons in each county are basically twenty or thirty years old. Unless the prison collapses, no one will pay to rebuild them. Old Zhou, what traps you is not the prison, but your mind, the shackles in your heart."
Law-abiding ordinary people have a misconception: they instinctively believe that all prisons are as impenetrable as the imperial prison in Beijing. Therefore, once they are in, they will only try to get out through proper channels and will not be foolish enough to violently escape by banging their heads against the wall.
Zhou Cang was one of the victims. He stared at the hole Guan Xing had made for a good while, then raised his hand and slapped himself several times, cursing angrily, "I'm such a fucking idiot."
Guan Xing patted his shoulder and laughed, "Alright, let's go. Go out and take a shower, change your clothes, and have a good meal. Then I'll take you to find Pan Zhang and get revenge."
Zhou Cang shook his head and said, "No, Second Young Master, I still have a mission to complete. I need to go back and convey the King's instructions to Lord Jun."
Guan Xing said, "Alright, let's go out for a good meal and then get some sleep. Tomorrow I'll send someone to escort you back from Wuyi Mountain."
Currently, the Zhejiang-Jiangxi corridor is still occupied by Lu Xun, and Zhou Cang cannot break through it, so he can only take a detour through the mountains.
Zhou Cang followed Guan Xing out through the hole they had created. Once outside, he discovered that the county government's side courtyard was just outside the hole. He realized that he could escape by climbing over the two-meter-high wall. This only made him more disoriented. Enraged, he rammed into the wall, tearing down the cracked prison wall on the spot.
Then, grumbling and cursing, he followed Guan Xing to take a bath and change clothes. As soon as he entered the backyard, he saw Ma Zhong idly squatting on the ground counting ants.
Ma Zhong also saw them and quickly got up to greet them. However, Zhou Cang seemed to have noticed something. After staring at Ma Zhong for a moment, he suddenly turned around, drew the sword from Guan Xing's waist, and rushed towards Ma Zhong. As he swung the sword, he roared angrily, "You little thief, do you still remember your Grandpa Zhou?"