The chill from the depths of the dungeon seeped through the heavy cloak, penetrating to the bone. The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay, and a deathly stillness that bordered on despair.

Xin Jiuwei followed behind Xiao Xun, her steps steady, each step echoing softly on the cold, damp stone steps. With each step, a clear, dull pain shot through the old wound in her heart, but this pain now acted like fuel for tempering, making the flame in her eyes burn even colder and purer.

You Ye and two guards with deep, unfathomable auras led the way with torches. The flickering flames stretched the distorted shadows on the stone walls on both sides of the narrow passage into varying lengths, like lurking ghosts.

Xin Jiuwei's gaze passed over Xiao Xun's tall, pine-like back and landed on the heavy prison door, forged from refined iron and covered with jagged spikes. Inside the door lay the end of her two lifetimes of blood feud.

The grating sound of a key being inserted into the lock shattered the stagnant silence of the dungeon. The heavy iron door was pushed open by two guards with a creaking sound that made your teeth ache, and an even stronger, more pungent stench of blood and filth rushed out.

The cell was dimly lit, with only a sliver of pale light filtering through a narrow vent high in the wall. By the light of the torch, Xin Jiuwei saw Qi Huaiyu.

He was firmly nailed to the cold stone wall by four thick iron chains, each as thick as a child's arm, his limbs spread out at an extremely twisted angle.

His once lean and sinister figure was now withered, like a skeleton covered by a layer of skin. His tattered prison clothes were soaked with congealed dark blood and clung tightly to his body. The wounds on his wrists, pierced by Xin Jiuwei's dagger, and his left wrist, pierced by a crossbow bolt, were now swollen and festering, exuding a bluish-black death aura. This was clearly the result of the "bone-mite maggot" poison and Judge Lin's "special treatment."

His face was covered with dried blood and grime, the hideous burn scar twisted and contorted, his lips cracked and purplish-black, only in his deep-set eyes remained two clusters of will-o'-the-wisps, filled with resentment and madness.

As the torchlight pierced his clouded pupils, the two will-o'-the-wisps flickered violently, then clung tightly to Xin Jiuwei standing in the doorway. Resentment, hatred, madness, and a twisted excitement—like seeing prey walk right into a trap—intertwined and burned in his eyes.

"Heh...heh heh..." Qi Huaiyu's throat emitted a hoarse, bellowing sound. His cracked lips stretched into an extremely ferocious smile, revealing bloodstained teeth. "Xin Jiuwei...you finally...came...to see me...in this...ghastly state? Or...to send your...good prince...on his final journey?" His voice was hoarse like sandpaper, filled with vicious curses.

Xiao Xun remained expressionless, his gaze unwavering. He simply stepped aside slightly to make way, his eyes calmly fixed on Xin Jiuwei, silently fulfilling his promise—this was her battlefield.

Xin Jiuwei took a deep breath, the air thick with the stench of blood and decay filling her lungs, yet strangely, it calmed her turbulent emotions completely. All fear and hesitation vanished with Qi Huaiyu's vicious curse, leaving only a chilling killing intent. She ignored Qi Huaiyu's provocation, not even glancing at Xiao Xun. Her gaze, like a cold probe, swept inch by inch over Qi Huaiyu's chained body, finally settling on his venomous eyes.

She walked slowly forward, her footsteps unusually clear in the empty death row. You Ye and the guards stood watch at her side, the torchlight casting her slender figure long and sharp against the filthy stone wall.

“Qi Huaiyu,” Xin Jiuwei spoke, her voice not loud, but clearly piercing the deathly silence of the cell, carrying a metallic coldness, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if stating a predetermined ending, “Your time has come.”

Qi Huaiyu's ferocious smile froze, then transformed into an even more frenzied roar: "My time?! Xin Jiuwei! You think you've won?! You're nothing but his dog! A dog he can discard at any time! Xiao Xun! You hypocrite! Coward! If you've got the guts, do it yourself! Let a woman do it for you? Hahaha! You're scared! You're scared of me! You're scared that even if I die, I'll haunt you! Haunt you two..."

"Enough." Xin Jiuwei coldly interrupted his hysterical roar. She stopped three steps away from Qi Huaiyu, a distance enough for her to see the deep-seated resentment in his eyes and to avoid any possible desperate counterattack. She slowly raised her right hand, holding in it the sharp dagger that had once been stained with Xiao Xun's blood and pierced Qi Huaiyu's wrist—the one Xiao Xun had given her. The cold blade reflected a chilling glint in the torchlight.

Upon seeing that familiar dagger, Qi Huaiyu's pupils contracted sharply. Like a frog caught in the venom of a snake, his frantic roar abruptly ceased, replaced by an instinctive fear from the depths of his soul. He knew all too well the sharpness of that dagger, and he knew all too well the weight of the chilling killing intent in Xin Jiuwei's eyes! She wasn't there to humiliate him; she truly intended to end him with her own hands! With this knife that once belonged to Xiao Xun!

“No…you can’t…” Qi Huaiyu’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, the chains rattling and creaking. The fear of death truly arriving instantly overwhelmed all his madness and resentment. He looked at Xiao Xun, his eyes filled with desperate pleading: “Your Highness…Your Highness, spare me! I know I was wrong! I’ll confess everything! I’m still useful! I know their secrets! There are still their people in the capital…in the capital! Many! Many! I can identify them! I can…”

Xiao Xun remained silently in the shadows, like a cold statue, ignoring Qi Huaiyu's wails and the so-called "secret." His gaze was fixed only on Xin Jiuwei's straight back.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!