This was Su Tiyue's first and last meeting with Pei Fu.

The gloomy and dark cellar seemed to be filled with the scent of death.

The pale yellow oil lamp, though just lit by Han Zhou, resembled a weathered old man, on his deathbed...

In the dim light, Su Tiyue saw the person chained to a wooden cross.

With his arms outstretched, he was fixed to both ends of the frame, his wrists already worn raw and bloody from the chains.

Pei Fu stood there motionless with his head down, as if he had lost all vitality.

His head of white hair was disheveled and almost completely covered his face...

Su Tiyue couldn't see his face clearly, but she didn't dare to go any further. She just gripped the lantern tightly and stood there helplessly.

Seeing how timid she was, Han Zhou said slowly, "Don't worry, she's not dead yet."

"Hmm..." Su Tiyue hummed softly.

Han Zhou continued, "Your Majesty may not know, but every month I, your adoptive father, have to experience all the major and minor punishments from the Censorate and the Garrison Command."

"Not a single one can be missing." Han Zhou grinned.

Su Tiyue frowned, her eyes filled with complex emotions as she looked at Pei Fu: "The cruel punishments of the Zhenfu Division alone could take half a life... once a month, are you sure he can hold out this long?"

"Your Majesty has forgotten that with Wenyan around, your good adoptive father will not die."

Han Zhou raised an eyebrow: "When my godfather dies is not up to him, nor is it up to the King of Hell... because my brother is the living King of Hell in this world."

Su Tiyue: "...Hmm."

"Cough cough cough—"

"Cough cough—"

Perhaps hearing the noise, Pei Fu, who had been in a daze, actually woke up.

With each cough, a little dark red blood would trickle from the corner of his mouth.

Pei Fu struggled to lift his head, glanced at Han Zhou in front of him, and sneered disdainfully, "So you're already here to show your respect to your father?"

Of course, this "filial piety" has a deeper meaning.

Despite his mockery and ridicule, Han Zhou remained unmoved: "Father, please don't be angry. I'm not here to pay my respects to you today; someone else wants to see you..."

Following the direction Han Zhou pointed, Pei Fu looked toward where Su Tiyue was standing.

Their eyes met, and Su Tiyue pursed her thin lips into a thin line, nodding slightly to Pei Fu.

Pei Fu frowned; he didn't recognize the woman in front of him at all.

It's also possible that we know each other...

But he had been locked up in this awful place for too long, and had lost his mind and memory.

So I don't remember.

Pei Fu was uncertain about everything, but from the woman's clear and bright eyes, the only thing he was certain of was... that she had no ill intentions towards him.

“Girl, come closer… let us take a good look at you…” Pei Fu’s voice was hoarse.

Su Tiyue turned to look at Han Zhou, only to see him quietly step aside, find a chair, sit down, and adopt a look of watching a good show.

Su Tiyue hesitated for a moment, then boldly took a few steps toward Pei Fu.

The light was dim, Pei Fu was dressed in tattered clothes, his hair and beard were all white, and his face was gaunt.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse: "Girl, we don't care who you are, please have mercy..."

Pei Fu glanced at Han Zhou out of the corner of his eye, and pleaded in an even lower voice, "Kill me, kill me..."

Su Tiyue thought she had misheard: "What?"

Even though the voice was soft, Han Zhou heard it clearly. He slowly stood up from his chair and walked towards the two of them.

Upon noticing Han Zhou approaching, Pei Fu suddenly lost his temper, as if grasping at a straw, and roared at Su Tiyue, "I told you to kill me! Kill me!"

Su Tiyue was terrified. She staggered back two steps, looking at Pei Fu with a look of horror.

But he still wouldn't give up, struggling with all his might, howling, "Kill me! Please...let me die, okay?!"

Han Zhou clicked his tongue, took a few steps to Pei Fu, covered his mouth with his left hand to prevent him from making a sound, and tightly locked Pei Fu's throat with his right hand until he passed out.

The cellar was empty; any sound made would echo.

Su Tiyue could almost hear Pei Fu's repeated wails in her ears...

Han Zhou pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped his right hand fingers, and said to her with a forced smile, "This old thing seems to have gone mad... Let's go, let's go back."

Han Zhou took a few steps forward and found that Su Tiyue was still standing in the same spot, motionless.

He turned around and said, “Your Majesty, now you should understand, shouldn’t you? You and my brother are not the same kind of people at all. People like us, with blood on our hands and covered in mud, would probably scare Your Majesty with just one look. Since we are like the pure and bright moon in the sky, why should we step into this mortal world and invite bad luck into our lives?”

Su Tiyue said, "Hanzhou, I know what you mean. But my mind is made up..."

"Don't worry, I won't be a burden to your brother, nor will I hinder anything he wants to do. Whether it's killing or destroying the world, I'll just follow in his footsteps. This path won't be easy, but I still want to walk it with him..."

"Hanzhou, I don't want your brother to be caught in the middle between you and me again. So, you understand what I mean, right?"

Su Tiyue's intentions are very clear.

She wanted to reconcile with Han Zhou.

Han Zhou lowered his eyes and thought for a moment.

"I won't stop my brother from doing anything... Your Majesty had better keep your word."

Before leaving, Han Zhou left behind only these words.

Han Zhou had only taken a few steps when a dark figure appeared at the edge of the narrow passageway.

Clearly, the black-clad figure had been waiting here for quite some time.

Han Zhou glanced sideways at the dark figure leaning against the wall, but didn't say anything. He simply walked out as if nothing had happened.