The stone wall sealed shut—

From within the torture chamber came one suppressed, strangled cry from Su Man—and then silence.

No one knew what was happening to her.

The witch’s chair. The iron maiden. The brazen bull. The pear of anguish. The Scavenger’s Daughter. The Catherine wheel. The Spanish donkey. Seven torture devices—every single one designed to bring nothing but nightmares to a woman.

The empty corridor lay in absolute silence.

All sound was swallowed back down the throat…

Zhu Shu covered her face with both hands, her body wracked with violent trembling, tears sliding soundlessly down in a steady stream.

Bai Youwei leaned against the wall on the floor, her head bowed, gasping for breath—not a word.

Yu Yaqing sat on the floor as well, holding her injured hand, staring in silence toward the far end of the corridor.

She thought of Hu Ya’s death, thought of what they were facing now, thought of what this world would become… and felt only blankness in her heart.

…

This night was unbearably long and hard.

They stayed outside the torture chamber’s door, and heard nothing more from Su Man.

Yu Yaqing prayed quietly within herself, hoping Su Man had found an opportunity to end it herself—anything was better than being tortured by those devices.

She rose and helped Bai Youwei to her feet, then turned to both Bai Youwei and Zhu Shu:

“Su Man bought us one more day. We can’t let it go to waste. Go back and rest now, then find a new way forward.”

She had expected them to remain sunk in despair—or perhaps break down entirely. But they didn’t.

Even as the tears still fell, Zhu Shu silently rose to her feet and walked, one step at a time, toward the staircase.

They returned to the first floor.

The hall was carpeted in shattered crystal.

Hu Ya lay crushed beneath the great crystal chandelier, utterly still, her body hidden from view.

They walked through the hall and made their way back to the bridal rooms. They knew they should rest—but sleep was impossibly far away.

Zhu Shu sat on the edge of the bed, tears still streaming and unable to stop. Yu Yaqing didn’t try to comfort her. Some grief, perhaps, is better released…

The door let out a soft creak.

Yu Yaqing looked up to find Bai Youwei standing in the doorway, leaning on her cane, about to leave.

“Bai Youwei…” Yu Yaqing rose to her feet.

Before she could say anything, Bai Youwei said quietly:

“I want to be alone for a while.”

Her long hair hung loose, half-veiling her face. The fringe fell across her brows and eyes, the shadow lying thick beneath it, obscuring her expression from Yu Yaqing entirely.

Yu Yaqing watched her.

She understood—Bai Youwei must be in tremendous pain right now. She wanted to reach out, to say something comforting. *It’s alright. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t grieve. Your plan had everyone’s agreement—even if it was wrong, it wasn’t your fault alone… Su Man won’t blame us… We all did everything we could…*

Ah…

Words, how utterly hollow.

Yu Yaqing couldn’t bring herself to speak. Every sentence she assembled in her mind felt so shallow, so powerless.

In the end, she sat back down in silence.

Bai Youwei opened the door and stepped out on her cane.

…

Neither of them slept the entire night.

In the morning, they gathered in the dining room, gnawing on tasteless dry bread, every face blank and lifeless, drained of all vitality.

The Inspector watched them with a smile.

“Only three brides left, it seems. I suppose tomorrow morning’s breakfast will need to be reduced by one serving.”

No one responded.

Bai Youwei ate in silence, either lost in thought or simply absent—she appeared not to have heard a single word.

The animated, beautiful Inspector found it dull. It had wanted to gloat a little, but with no reaction from them, its mockery felt pointless.

After the sparse breakfast, Bai Youwei pushed herself to her feet with her cane.

Zhu Shu and Yu Yaqing followed after her.

The Inspector startled faintly, and before it could stop itself, asked: “Where are you going?”

Bai Youwei stopped. She turned around slowly and looked at it.

The Inspector couldn’t help its curiosity; it gazed intently at those eyes of hers… dark and still, serene as still water, like a well with no discernible bottom—no light, no wind, not the faintest ripple of emotion.

Just as it was about to speak, Bai Youwei said something first.

She said: “If the reward this game gives me is not to my satisfaction, then you are most definitely… trash.”

—