Chapter 41
Deep within the Chongwu Camp prison, the iron chains rattled softly.
The damp air smelled of rust and old blood.
Zhao Yuanzhou sat quietly against the wall, appearing far calmer than a prisoner awaiting execution should have been.
Footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Pei Sijing appeared.
She stopped in front of the cell.
Neither spoke immediately.
Then Zhao Yuanzhou smiled faintly.
“The time has come.”
Pei Sijing sighed.
“You really knew all along.”
From within her sleeve, she pulled out a dagger.
The blade flashed.
One lock opened.
Then another.
The chains binding Zhao Yuanzhou fell heavily to the floor.
Clang.
Clang.
“You suspected me from the beginning?”
Pei Sijing asked.
Zhao Yuanzhou nodded.
“The first time you met Zhen Mei in secret.”
“You saw that?”
“I see many things.”
Pei Sijing rolled her eyes.
“Annoying demon.”
“When you discovered Zhen Mei was controlling me through Pei Siheng…”
Her voice lowered.
“…you still helped me.”
Zhao Yuanzhou said nothing.
Because both of them remembered.
The promise.
The grief.
The desperate hope of seeing her brother again.
After learning the truth, Zhao Yuanzhou had secretly used chaotic magic to preserve Pei Siheng’s consciousness.
A miracle no one else could have performed.
“I owe you.”
Zhao Yuanzhou shook his head.
“No.”
“You owe your brother.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
“I continued acting as their spy.”
“The Chongwu Camp never suspected me.”
Zhao Yuanzhou’s golden eyes sharpened.
“And?”
Pei Sijing glanced around before speaking quietly.
“Eight years ago.”
“The Chongwu Camp wasn’t simply hunting demons.”
The prison suddenly felt colder.
“They were capturing them alive.”
Zhao Yuanzhou’s smile vanished.
Pei Sijing continued.
“They delivered them to a secret military faction.”
“For experiments.”
The words struck harder than any weapon.
Immediately, memories surfaced.
Dark corridors.
Iron cages.
The underground chambers of Ji Xin Hall.
The imprisoned demons.
The smell of suffering.
The fear.
The screams.
And beside him-
Li Lun.
Young.
Furious.
Heartbroken.
Zhao Yuanzhou slowly lowered his gaze.
“So it was true.
The horrors that had pushed Li Lun toward hatred.
The prison seemed strangely quiet after that.
Pei Sijing noticed the shadow crossing his face.
For the first time, she understood something.
Some of Li Lun’s anger had not come from madness.
It had come from witnessing things that never should have existed.
Eventually, Zhao Yuanzhou exhaled.
Then suddenly asked,
“How is Yichen?”
The question came so quickly that Pei Sijing almost laughed.
Of course.
The world could be ending.
Ancient conspiracies could be unfolding.
“He’s alive.”
Zhao Yuanzhou visibly relaxed.
Then Pei Sijing added,
“He’s also terrifying.”
“What happened?”
Pei Sijing crossed her arms.
“He’s currently fighting half the court.”
“…”
“Actually.”
“Maybe all of it.”
“…”
“He insulted several ministers.”
Zhao Yuanzhou looked impressed.
“He called a few of them cowards.”
“He questioned their intelligence.”
The smile became larger.
Pei Sijing stared.
“You look proud.”
“I am proud.”
“He’s causing political chaos.”
“He does it beautifully.”
“You’re impossible.”
The demon laughed softly.
For the first time since entering prison, genuine warmth returned to his eyes.
He could practically imagine it.
Zhuo Yichen standing in the middle of the court.
Cold expression.
Sharp tongue.
Destroying arrogant officials one sentence at a time.
Somehow the image felt reassuring.
Comforting.
Home.
Pei Sijing shook her head.
“I’ve never seen him this angry.”
The smile slowly faded from Zhao Yuanzhou’s face.
His expression softened.
Because he knew why.
Yichen was fighting for him.
Again.
Just like always.
For several moments, he remained silent.
Then quietly asked,
“Did he sleep at all?”
Pei Sijing burst out laughing.
“That’s what you’re worried about?”
“Of course.”
The answer came immediately.
The archer groaned.
“The court is collapsing.”
“A conspiracy is unfolding.”
“Ancient secrets are being exposed.”
“And you’re worried about whether Commander Zhuo slept?”
Zhao Yuanzhou smiled.
A small, gentle smile.
“He forgets to rest when he’s angry.”
For a moment, Pei Sijing simply stared.
Then shook her head.
“You’re both hopeless.”
Perhaps they were.
But as Zhao Yuanzhou stepped out of the prison and into the moonlit night, only one thought occupied his mind.
Not the conspiracy.
Not the enemies.
Not even the danger ahead.
Only Zhuo Yichen…his Yichen.
✨✨✨❄️❄️❄️⚔️⚔️⚔️
As Zhao Yuanzhou and Pei Sijing spoke, a figure dressed in black stepped out of the darkness.
The moment Zhao Yuanzhou saw him, his expression changed.
“Wen Zongyu.”
The man removed his mask without hesitation.
There was no longer any need to hide.
Eight years ago, the infamous Ji Xin Hall-the place where demons were captured and experimented upon-had been operating under his command.
Wen Zongyu calmly admitted everything.
His true goal had never been the Demon-Hunting Squad.
It was Zhao Yuanzhou.
More specifically-
the Undying Wood hidden within Zhao Yuanzhou’s inner core.
He explained that once a demon’s five senses were completely sealed, the inner core would naturally separate from the body.
Then another figure appeared beside him.
Bai Jiu.
Wen Zongyu revealed the truth.
From the very beginning, Bai Jiu had been his informant.
Every step of the journey had been carefully planned.
In Sinan Water Town, Bai Jiu’s plague-prevention medicine secretly sealed Zhao Yuanzhou’s sense of taste.
The Huansan Powder he later provided blocked his sense of smell.
Inside the underground chamber, when Bai Jiu covered Zhao Yuanzhou’s eyes, his vision was sealed.
Upon entering Huaijiang Valley, Bai Jiu distributed earplugs, taking away his hearing.
Only one sense remained.
Touch.
Once that was sealed, Zhao Yuanzhou’s inner core would leave his body.
Pei Sijing finally understood that even her placement within the Demon-Hunting Squad had been manipulated.
Wen Zongyu had deliberately arranged events so she would join the team, while Bai Jiu gained everyone’s trust.
Even Zhuo Yichen had been part of the plan.
If Bai Jiu failed, the Yun Guang Sword would serve as the final weapon capable of killing Zhao Yuanzhou.
Zhao Yuanzhou looked at Wen Zongyu coldly.
“What do you want with my inner core”
“I don’t want the core.”
His eyes darkened.
“I want the Undying Wood inside it.”
Eight years ago, he had spent enormous effort searching for the last remaining fragment of the Undying Wood.
But before he could obtain it, Zhao Yuanzhou accidentally absorbed it into his body.
Since then, Wen Zongyu had spent years building a trap around him.
Finally, he turned toward Bai Jiu.
“Do it.”
Bai Jiu stood motionless.
Wen Zongyu’s voice became colder.
“Pierce him with the silver needles.”
✨✨✨❄️❄️❄️⚔️⚔️⚔️
The moment Wen Zongyu gave the order, Zhao Yuanzhou tried to activate a spell.
Nothing happened.
Only then did he notice the walls of the dungeon.
Every surface was covered in talismans.
Layer upon layer.
Wen Zongyu smiled.
“You really thought I wouldn’t prepare for that?”
Before Bai Jiu could move, Pei Sijing suddenly stepped forward.
A familiar divine aura erupted from her hand.
The Mountain God’s Boundary.
Light exploded through the chamber.
The talismans trembled.
The space around them distorted.
“Go!” she shouted.
In the next instant, she grabbed Zhao Yuanzhou and forced open a path through the boundary.
The dungeon vanished.
The city streets of Tiandu appeared around them.
But before either could catch their breath-
shouts erupted nearby.
A Prime Ministerial carriage stood motionless in the middle of the road.
Blood dripped slowly from beneath its door.
One of them approached cautiously.
“Open it.”
The carriage door creaked open.
Then silence fell.
Absolute silence.
The guard’s face turned white.
Inside sat Zhuo Yichen.
His robes were torn away, his body covered by a cloak hastily draped around his shoulders.
Blood stained his skin and hands.
His silver hair hung loose around his face.
He looked exhausted.
Pale.
Yet frighteningly calm.
Beside him lay the Prime Minister.
Dead.
Then a guard stumbled backward.
“The Prime Minister-!”
Another shouted.
“Commander Zhuo!”
The entire street descended into chaos.
At the edge of the crowd, Zhao Yuanzhou froze.
For a single terrifying moment, he couldn’t breathe.
The blood.
The exhaustion.
The hollow look in his eyes.
Everything else disappeared.
Then Zhao Yuanzhou moved.
Straight toward the carriage.
Ignoring the guards.
Ignoring the weapons being drawn around him.
There was only one thought in his mind.
What happened to Yichen?