"Since Your Highness arrived here, apart from coughing a few times at the beginning, you haven't made any noise and have been very quiet."

"Yes, and the medicine is delivered on time every day, absolutely on time!...Yes! Yes! I understand, I know!"

The sound gradually became clearer. Gu Cheng dismissed the jailer and walked alone into the damp and gloomy dungeon. As soon as he took a step, he felt the darkness and coldness inside. Looking up, Yu Ling's thin figure became blurry in the corner.

"Your Highness... this humble general has come to see you."

Gu Cheng, a great general who had fought his way through countless battles, now saw Yu Ling's current state clearly in his eyes, and his voice became hoarse and choked with emotion.

"General Gu... cough cough..."

Yu Ling didn't look up, remaining curled up in the corner with her legs drawn up. Her voice was unusually hoarse from not speaking for so long.

"I wonder, General Gu... cough, what brings you to see this humble subject in person? Cough, cough cough..."

“Your Highness, you don’t need to do this. When I was young and ignorant, you saved my life. It is only right that I come to see you.”

As he spoke, Gu Cheng realized that he was the one who had brought the prince to such a state, and even he, who was usually thick-skinned, began to blush.

"Your Majesty, I am so sorry..."

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

Yu Ling interrupted Gu Cheng's long speech, which he had just begun.

"From a moral standpoint, your sister is His Majesty's concubine; from a legal standpoint, you are a high-ranking general serving the Emperor. What wrong have you done?"

"You may leave. This humble subject is grateful for your kindness and is doing well." With that, Yu Ling turned her head away.

"I... this humble general..."

Gu Cheng would rather Yu Ling scold him harshly than be so distant. At this moment, he lowered his head in shame, and before he could finish speaking, he hurriedly fled in a flustered manner.

The sound of the lock clicking shut echoed heavily once more.

Gu Cheng left, and the dungeon was plunged into darkness again with the iron gate closed. With no one to guard it, there was no need for pretense.

It was as if she had never seen Yu Ling before, looking weak, disheveled, and nearing her end. She calmly and gracefully got up and continued to pace around the dungeon to maintain her blood circulation and body temperature.

[Host, you could actually have Gu Cheng rescue you.]

The system was somewhat puzzled, after all, Gu Cheng seemed very guilty. It had been feeling stifled these past few days, and even its favorite whimpering sound had disappeared.

"oh?"

Yu Ling paused, then chuckled softly, and continued walking slowly through the small dungeon.

“Rescue them, and then what? The emperor won’t let a tiger return to the mountains, even if the tiger has lost its claws and teeth.”

At least it's better than living a precarious existence here, constantly fearing for your life.

The system is sad because if you die before a year is up, your survival points are counted as zero.

If it gets zero points again, its little savings won't last until it finds its next host. Apart from following the monster Yu Ling and struggling in the mission for a while before being recycled and transformed by the main god, it has almost no other way to go.

"You're wrong, system."

Yu Ling didn't actually like this feeling of barely surviving, but he had always liked things full of unknowns. According to the Survivor's Rules, this system would take him through countless worlds, so he felt it was necessary to give it a try and look forward to it. He didn't slack off at all.

"Although my life is in the hands of others, have you forgotten? Only here can I enjoy life-saving medicine every day. If I escape, will you support me?"

At this moment, the system really wanted to wave its hand and say, "I'll take care of you!"

But it's just a system that doesn't even have a body...

The system can only choose to remain silent.

Yu Ling didn't expect this guy who called himself "system" and whose background she didn't even know to be reliable. If he had a better option, he certainly wouldn't stay here. But the mission was just to survive, not to enjoy a high-quality life, right?

"The human body is so fragile."

Moreover, there was no spiritual energy in this world. Otherwise, he would have definitely cultivated the supreme techniques he collected from humans, recovered from his injuries as soon as possible, and seized the throne for the original owner to play the role of an emperor.

Yu Ling's eyes began to darken and become unpredictable. She raised her hand, bit her fingertip, and gently pinched it. Dark purple poisonous blood oozed out, drop by drop, from being viscous to solidifying, until it flowed away completely.

The system noticed that the purple color of its host's fingernails had faded considerably, indicating that the Five Poisons Powder would soon be completely eliminated from the body.

But then again, in this world without a magical power system, and with a body that's completely devoid of martial arts skills, how did the host manage to do it?

"An Jingqiu... no, the Regent, how is he? Will the imperial physicians not come to treat the Prince anymore?"

Inside the General's Mansion, a beautiful woman dressed in palace attire trotted along. Upon hearing that her brother had just returned from visiting the Regent, Gu Wen hurriedly followed Gu Cheng, chattering incessantly with questions.

Having been reborn, she naturally wanted to help her husband ascend the throne. Her greatest rival in her previous life was An Jingqiu. Unexpectedly, she gained the upper hand in every aspect of this life. After finally pushing An Jingxuan to the throne, she almost lost the chance to be overthrown by this guy!

This person absolutely cannot be allowed to live!

Gu Cheng nodded. It was easy to see that the emperor's decision to completely let things go was actually quite obvious. An enemy who was about to die was not scary, but if that person was so intelligent that he was almost supernatural, then it would be fine for him to die in prison.

At the same time, it also demonstrates the emperor's benevolence towards his younger brother, killing two birds with one stone, how wonderful!

"But His Majesty still won't listen to my advice. He absolutely refuses to kill him. It's clearly a capital offense, so why keep him alive!"

With her lips pouting, Gu Wen was filled with resentment. Her fate in this life was completely different from her previous life. She was used to everything going smoothly, and she was very upset by such a small setback.

"Enough! Wenwen, he's your brother's savior!"

Gu Cheng was once again scolded by the Regent for his beloved younger sister who had been lost since childhood, which made Gu Wen's eyes well up with tears, and little golden tears fell down her cheeks.

Gu Cheng softened again, just like when Gu Wen had begged him to rebel against the prince after crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide.

"Hmph, so what? He usurped the throne and committed treason, a heinous crime!"

Gu Wen felt sad. If one or two of them were like this, was An Jingqiu really that good?

He's clearly a cunning and treacherous person. In his past life, he quietly seized the throne from among all the princes. Who would have thought that he would secretly win over so many people, even his brother...

Damn it, this person must be plotting something behind the scenes. What do you mean by being listless and muddle-headed, or just waiting to die? She doesn't believe it and won't fall for it. The cunning An Jingqiu from her past life wasn't this kind of person. This must be just his disguise!

It was all just to fool a fool like my brother!

"Hmph! So what if you can't bear to kill him? So what if he saved your life? He's still dying! Fine, don't kill him then! If you're so capable, go break him out of prison!"

After venting her frustrations, Gu Wen stormed off, leaving Gu Cheng alone in the pavilion, lost in thought. Little did she know that Gu Cheng had truly taken her words to heart; otherwise, she would never have left so easily.

A prison break... or so?