Shen Feng then went to the prison. Male and female inmates were housed separately. Upon seeing the City Lord, the jailers quickly attended to him.
Zhang Xixi usually had nothing to do. As long as the number of prisoners wasn't too high, she didn't need to conduct interrogations and could wander around Yuzhou. However, if the prison became overcrowded, Zhang Xixi had to work overtime.
Currently, all the prisoners had been interrogated. Those with lighter offenses were sent to cultivate the land, while those with heavier crimes were to be beheaded after autumn. It was still late autumn, and the season of Frost Descent had not yet passed.
As Shen Feng entered the area where female prisoners were held, he saw Zhang Xiaoqiang. Zhang Xiaoqiang was excitedly gripping the prison bars and said to Shen Feng, "City Lord, I've confessed everything. I've provided information on more than half of the people. I've rendered meritorious service to you; you can't forget me."
Shen Feng looked at Zhang Xiaoqiang. She had lost her former arrogance. She had been working for Chang Jianyi for a long time and was once considered her right-hand woman, a person of high status. But now, she was disheveled and her clothes were in disarray.
"If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?" Shen Feng shook his head helplessly.
Yin Li and Zhang Xiaoqiang were the first to follow Chang Jianyi. Yin Li had already been killed by Shen Feng in the southern cave. As for Zhang Xiaoqiang, Shen Feng had no intention of intervening further.
Seeing Shen Feng's reaction, Zhang Xiaoqiang immediately tore open her clothes, revealing numerous scars, and said, "City Lord, look! I've shed blood for you. When the zombies attacked the dam in Jiangyang, I charged forward and fought them. See the wounds on my body."
Shen Feng suppressed the urge to turn away, but he recalled the time in Jiangyang when thirty thousand zombies, unaffected by dysentery, were attacking the dam. The zombies and corpses on the dam had piled up as high as small mountains. Yang Chang and Guo Pinming were leading the defense on the front lines but were still being pushed back. When people began to flee, it was Zhang Xiaoqiang and Yin Li who rallied the troops and even personally fought the zombies. How could Shen Feng forget such events?
Zhang Xiaoqiang, now bare-chested, pointed to her scars and explained them to Shen Feng. Shen Feng couldn't pretend to be indifferent.
Finally, Shen Feng sighed and said, "I will tell my senior sister about this. Whether she forgives you is another matter. You already held a high position, and we would have entrusted you with important tasks if you had continued to serve. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong path."
Hearing Shen Feng's words, Zhang Xiaoqiang knew that the City Lord was giving her a chance. She immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, her hair disheveled, and said with difficulty, "Thank you, City Lord. Thank you, City Lord. I will never forget your great kindness."
Seeing that their pleas were effective, other prisoners in the jail also began to beg for mercy. Some women even imitated Zhang Xiaoqiang by tearing open their clothes, seemingly trying to impress Shen Feng with their beauty. Shen Feng, however, looked straight ahead and ignored them. It was only because Shen Feng had known Zhang Xiaoqiang for a long time that he showed her leniency; he couldn't be bothered with the others.
Finally, Shen Feng arrived outside Hong Yehui's cell and looked at her through the prison bars.
When Hong Yehui saw Shen Feng at the door, her face showed a mocking expression. She then asked, "What? Shen Feng, do you want to see me groveling before you? Or do you hope I'll do what Zhang Xiaoqiang did, prostrating myself before you like a dog, only for you to humiliate me further?"
Shen Feng looked at Hong Yehui with complex emotions and asked, "I just want to ask you one thing: why did you betray me? That's what I most want to know."
Upon hearing this question, Hong Yehui sneered, "So you've forgotten what happened back then. You humiliated me fiercely, making me a laughingstock. If it were anyone else, they might have endured it silently, but I refused to accept it. Because your luck was better than mine, you became an ability user! If I were an ability user, you wouldn't have had the chance to humiliate me!"
Shen Feng looked at Hong Yehui in silence. He genuinely couldn't recall such an incident.
Hong Yehui continued, "It doesn't matter if you've forgotten; I won't. Back then, I led people to demand our vehicles. Not only did you seize our vehicles, but you also allowed Yu Renshu to use her abilities and nearly suffocate me, causing me to lose face in front of everyone. From that moment on, I swore to get revenge on you!"
Shen Feng thought carefully and finally remembered. There was indeed such an incident, but in his memory, things hadn't happened quite that way.
Then, Shen Feng said seriously, "That was your own doing. Don't forget, at that time, the Corpse King of Yuzhou was leading hundreds of thousands of zombies towards Rongcheng. I had to lead the entire city to escape. But you interfered, disregarding the severity of the situation. You thought your life was more precious than others, but in my view, everyone is the same and needs to be saved."
"But that was my car. Why did you take it? I only wanted to get back what was rightfully mine, but you said I was disregarding the situation. In my opinion, you were simply being unreasonable and overbearing. You had guns, so no one could stop you from doing whatever you wanted!" Hong Yehui's face showed a mocking expression.
"That's true. However, even with guns, I didn't harm others indiscriminately. As for you, you colluded with outsiders and, for personal vendetta, caused heavy casualties in Yuzhou. This is even more incomprehensible. Now, come with me," Shen Feng said calmly.
Shen Feng didn't want to argue with Hong Yehui any further. The matter of what happened back then was a case of each side believing they were in the right, and arguing would be useless.
Shen Feng took Hong Yehui away from the prison. Hong Yehui asked, "Next, are you going to hang me on the city wall?"
Hong Yehui's question was sharp. She had heard about the fate of the members of the Heavenly Dragon Bureau, whose brains had been removed, and their bodies hung on the city wall. She figured that after two months, these bodies would have dried out. Yuzhou was very hot, and evaporation was severe. If they became mummies, their original appearances would be unrecognizable.
Shen Feng did not answer. After standing at the prison entrance for a while, Lu Xian appeared on an electric scooter. In present-day Yuzhou, there was no oil or natural gas, making electric scooters the most suitable mode of transportation.
When Hong Yehui saw Lu Xian appear, she was stunned for a moment. Her gaze began to waver as she looked at Lu Xian, clearly not wanting to see him.
Lu Xian, however, ignored this and patted the seat behind him, saying, "Wife, hurry up and get on. Don't just stand there."
Hong Yehui's eyes widened in surprise. She was clearly finding the situation unbelievable. Wasn't she supposed to be executed? Moreover, she had just been defiant towards the City Lord, and he was letting her go?
Shen Feng said calmly at this moment, "Alright, hurry up and go. I won't kill you, but from now on, you will teach for the rest of your life. Use teaching to atone for your sins."
Hong Yehui was still in a daze. She had already prepared herself for a brutal death at Shen Feng's hands, perhaps even to be hung on the city wall and eventually become an ugly mummy. But now, she wasn't going to die, which she found hard to believe.
Lu Xian placed Hong Yehui behind him on the electric scooter and said to her, "Alright, hold on tight. We're going home."
Hong Yehui dazedly hugged her husband. In the past, she had only used Lu Xian to get revenge on Shen Feng. But she never expected that even in her most desperate state, her husband would not abandon her.
"Why? Why are you still doing this?" Hong Yehui then asked.
Hearing this question, Lu Xian replied while riding, "You are the woman I chose. How could I abandon you? From the moment I chose you, I decided to treat you well. However, from now on, you'll never be able to mess around again."
Hong Yehui continued to ask, "But I've implicated you. You were once a prominent figure in Yuzhou, but because of me, you've been marginalized. I've caused you to become like this. Don't you resent me at all?"
Lu Xian shrugged and said nothing. He himself didn't understand why he was so fixated on Hong Yehui. It shouldn't have been difficult to find a woman with shared interests, and it would have been normal to distance himself from Hong Yehui in the future. However, in the end, Lu Xian couldn't help but plead for her, because he didn't want to be an unqualified husband.
After Lu Xian and Hong Yehui returned home, Hong Yehui learned that Lu Xian was going on a mission to Siberia. She immediately understood everything. The reason she was able to survive was all thanks to Lu Xian, who had exchanged his mission for her life.
Hong Yehui was deeply moved. Perhaps in the apocalypse, such sincere emotions were the most touching. After washing up, Hong Yehui immediately began preparing things for Lu Xian's departure. Siberia was extremely cold, so adequate warmth measures were essential.
After spending a long time in prison, Hong Yehui understood the importance of a stable life. Now that she had a chance to reform, she cherished it immensely.
Hong Yehui began packing for Lu Xian. Since she had never done this before, her actions were a bit rushed. As she packed, she kept reminding him, "Be very careful on the road, especially when you get to Siberia. I've heard there are many brown bears there, and mutated ones are definitely not to be underestimated. If you see any, you must escape quickly. I'll be waiting for you at home."
Hearing his wife's instructions, Lu Xian's heart warmed. He said seriously, "Don't worry, I will return safely. I'll leave the matters at home to you. Although teaching won't bring you any reward, I have five buildings here. You can rent them out, and making money won't be a problem. Just don't do anything foolish from now on."
Since the apocalypse began, the strong woman Hong Yehui had not felt the warmth of family for a long time. Now, Hong Yehui finally understood that past animosity was insignificant. Living a stable life was the most important thing.
After Shen Feng handled the relevant matters, he also informed Xu Xing and Qi Lingshan. They, along with two others, prepared to set off for Siberia. Xu Xing had recently been repeatedly reprimanded by her mother, Wu Yelian, simply because Xu Xing had declared her intention to eliminate all bandits in the world, a ambition Wu Yelian had unceremoniously discouraged.
Now, having the opportunity to leave her mother, Xu Xing immediately seized the chance to join Shen Feng's plan to go to Siberia.
Chu Chaoyan also wanted to go, but Shen Feng refused her, as it was too far, and Chu Chaoyan, being a lady from a prominent family, wouldn't be able to endure such hardship.
That evening, Shen Feng returned home. There was an additional person at the dinner table: Shen Feng's sister, Shen Yu.
While eating, Chu Chaoyan and Chang Jianyi kept serving dishes to Shen Yu, which made Shen Yu feel quite embarrassed.
"I came here to cause trouble for you all, yet you're taking such good care of me. It makes me feel very awkward," Shen Yu said sheepishly.
Shen Feng seized the opportunity and said, "I told you to come and live in Yuzhou with Mom and Dad so I could look after you conveniently. You didn't listen. Now that you're here in Yuzhou and have seen it for yourself, you must know that Yuzhou is very safe, right?"
Shen Yu nodded and said, "I used to think it was a sign of incompetence for you to organize a civilian group by yourself. But now, I realize it was my lack of experience. Yuzhou now has a population, food, and the natural barrier of the Yangtze River. This is truly a safe place."