The man took one last look at her, nodded, and left.

It was not until the evening that someone finally came upstairs to report to Lin Wu that Ling Xiu had arrived.

At that time, Lin Wu was still hiding in the guest bedroom and asked someone to bring Ling Xiu up.

She looked through the roster she had brought from the study. Most of the names on it had been crossed out, and the ones who replaced them were newcomers.

As I was watching, there was a knock on the door.

Before Lin Wu could respond, the person pushed the door open.

Lin Wu also looked up and saw Ling Xiu standing at the door with a not very good look on her face.

"Not coming in?" Lin Wu raised his eyebrows.

Ling Xiu tightened her grip on the door handle and said, "I heard from the deputy city lord that you want me to go to the eighteenth floor of the Ice Prison with you."

Lin Wu closed the list and said, "It seems that he has told you almost everything. Do you know what is in the eighteenth level of the Ice Prison?"

Ling Xiu nodded.

Lin Wu asked, "What do you think? Do you want to go with me?"

Ling Xiu said after a moment: "Can I refuse?"

Lin Wu asked back: "Why refuse?"

Ling Xiu said calmly: "No one wants to risk their own death. If I go and meet the city lord, he will understand that I have betrayed him. Perhaps, I will die before you. I am not a master of my own, and I am not as sure as you that I can live longer in there."

Lin Wu put the list aside and said, "I won't force you. But will Fan agree to let you stay?"

Ling Xiu's face darkened.

Lin Wu said calmly, "Oh, it seems that you have already mentioned it to Fan, but he rejected you and said that you must go. Let me guess why."

"You look so bad, and you've delayed coming until now - tsk, could it be that you haven't found the City Lord's Order yet? Fan tortured Mo Lang but couldn't get any information out of him. Mo Lang turned around and said you knew it, but you actually never saw the City Lord's Order, but Fan didn't believe you."

"So he probably thinks that it's best for you and me to go to the Ice Prison. Even if you really have the City Lord's Order, if you die in there, the City Lord's Order will be useless. He will become the new City Lord and have a new City Lord's Order, right?"

Ling Xiu was slightly surprised: "How do you know..."

She suddenly thought of something and her eyes changed.

"Do you know where the City Lord's Order is?!"

Lin Wu: "Please, generally speaking, the city lord has been in this position for at least fifty years. He is much more experienced and thoughtful than you. Of course, he will keep such an important thing as the city lord's order well. How could he let you find it easily? Even if you find it, would you dare to use something that is easily obtained? Wouldn't you suspect that there is something wrong?"

Ling Xiu was silent for a moment.

Lin Wu looked at her and suddenly said, "I think Fan has told you why I want you. To be honest, I feel sorry for what has happened to you and me. Since we are both going to die, we are like grasshoppers on the same rope. Let's forget about the past."

Ling Xiu looked touched.

Lin Wu then said, "So, on the last night before I leave, how about getting some wine and having a chat with you and me?"

Ling Xiu looked at Lin Wu.

After a moment's silence, Ling Xiu turned and left.

Lin Wu was not in a hurry and waited patiently. Sure enough, within five minutes, Ling Xiu came back with two bottles of fine red wine and a few dishes of snacks.

After closing the door, the two sat on the ground in front of the window facing each other.

The sky outside was dark, without a trace of moonlight or starlight.

The room was dim with only three dim wall lamps on.

Lin Wu bit open the cork with his mouth, filled both cups, and pushed one of the cups to Ling Xiu.

Ling Xiu was about to reach out her hand when she heard Lin Wu casually say, "Take off everything you're wearing, including your ears, cufflinks, brooches, and belt buckles."

Ling Xiu stopped suddenly.

Ling Xiu stared at her, then tilted her head slightly, and the device in her ear seemed to receive some instructions.

Ling Xiu pointed with her hand, then really picked them up one by one and threw them into the trash can.

Lin Wu glanced at them and said, "There are so many of you. You really think highly of me."

Ling Xiu said, "I said the same thing again. You are too modest. A few years ago, you were able to leave Killer City under such circumstances. Now you are not at the end of your rope. It would be the most foolish thing to let down my guard against you."

"What about you?" Lin Wu suddenly asked back.

"……I?"

"Sister Lingxiu, you work for the city lord because of what the city lord did to you a few years ago. You realized that the city lord can easily crush you, and you don't want to experience it again, right?" Lin Wu said.

Ling Xiu nodded after a while.

Lin Wu said, "What about Fan? You work for him because you really want to get rid of his control, and the method he gave you might work. Do you hope to regain your freedom through this?"

Ling Xiu hummed lightly.

Lin Wu reached out his hand to clink the glasses, and amid the sound of "ding-dong", he suddenly asked, "But he wants you to die now, do you still want to work for him?"

Ling Xiu paused, "What do you mean?"

Lin Wu smiled.

She usually had a cold and expressionless face, and her aura was so strong that it was easy for others to overlook her. It turned out that she had a good-looking and innocent appearance, which made people not be on guard.

Ling Xiu was stunned for a moment.

But the next moment, what Lin Wu said made her face change slightly.

"I don't want to die either, but as long as Fan is here, you and I will inevitably die, and we won't be able to take the initiative. How about this, Sister Lingxiu, let's get rid of Fan together and take over this island."

Ling Xiu said in a deep voice: "Are you kidding? He is the deputy city lord. Now the island is basically full of his people, under his actual control! Even without these people, he himself is extremely difficult to approach and cannot do anything. He is also wary of you, so you can't do anything. Not to mention, I don't have many people I can use, and you don't have many people you can use either!"

Lin Wu said slowly, "Sister Lingxiu, you don't have to worry about this. You just need to tell me, do you want to get rid of him? Or do you want to continue to be controlled by him like now?"

Ling Xiu didn't say anything.

Lin Wu took another big sip and said, "If you help him, he will want you to die; even if you don't go, I can't guarantee that I can solve this control and hold the city lord. You have followed the city lord for so long, you should know him very well. As long as the city lord is still alive, even if he only has one breath left, you will be in danger. When the city lord settles accounts, you will still die. You will die anyway, why do you want to help Fan?"

Ling Xiu said in a deep voice: "The deputy city lord said that as long as the city lord is seriously injured, then..."

Lin Wu said firmly: "The city lord cannot remain seriously injured forever. He will definitely get better. You can't stop him at all."

Ling Xiu was startled: "How do you know?"

"...I can't tell you for now, but I can guarantee that the city lord's self-healing ability is beyond your imagination. If Ren Ke were here, she would tell you the same thing. It's wishful thinking for you to want the city lord to remain in a seriously injured state for a long time." Lin Wu said.

Ling Xiu frowned and looked at Lin Wu.

Lin Wu finally said, "Sister Lingxiu, let's stop pretending. You know that the city lord and I have met privately."

Ling Xiu suddenly clenched the wine glass in her hand.

Lin Wu said: "The city lord guessed right. After I learned so much from Fan, my wishes have really changed. So even if I go to the Ice Prison, I will not hurt the city lord. I even have a way to save the city lord and make him recover so that he will no longer be weak."

"When the city lord comes out, you'll be finished. So, Fan will definitely fail, and you will definitely die if you follow him."

Ling Xiu's pupils shrank: "You can make the city lord recover? How is that possible?! And why did you change your mind? Don't you want to solve this control?"

"I still can't answer you about the former. As for the latter," Lin Wu paused, "To be honest, I'm still confused. Maybe I'll understand everything after meeting the city lord himself. But before that, I have to make sure I have no worries."

"So, I must take over this island!"

She raised her hand again, touched Lingxiu's cup, raised her eyebrows and said, "If you don't want to die, there is only one way - help me."