Yuncheng was filled with regret in his cell. He had figured it out, truly—all the conditions Ruyi offered were beneficial to him. Why wouldn’t he be happy to accept? He was going to the execution block anyway, so what harm was there in enduring the pain of a beating?

Seeing the jailer approaching to deliver his final meal, Yuncheng clutched his head.

Suddenly, there came the sound of sand and earth falling beside him.

Yuncheng started in alarm, quickly turning his head to see a large hole appear in the ground beside him. Ruyi emerged from within, asking casually: “Well? Are you coming or not?”

“Yes!” He jumped up in delighted surprise, then looked fearfully toward the bars.

The jailer who had just been walking toward him had somehow suddenly gone down another path.

“Then come down.” She descended into the hole, heading forward without looking back.

Yuncheng was both shocked and frightened. He hesitated at the edge of the hole for a long time before finally covering his mouth and nose and jumping down.

The hole closed behind him, and the dusty cell instantly returned to its original state.

He didn’t see that miraculous sight, only hurried to chase the flickering candlelight ahead.

“Miss, miss.” He chased until he was panting. “There are patrol guards near Chaotian Gate. I know their shift schedule.”

Ruyi walked elegantly holding the candlestick: “That’s excellent.”

“You’ve helped me so much—what reward do you want?” he asked with shifty eyes.

Ruyi turned her head, her long eyes lazy: “Put away your scheming thoughts, Lord Yun. I’m only acting on a whim. Whatever you do after you get out has nothing to do with me anymore.”

In Yuncheng’s understanding, everyone had ulterior motives. She had expended such great effort to save him—it couldn’t be just for the truth.

He shook his head: “To make me lower my guard and get me to talk, Shen Qiyuan deliberately gave me leverage against himself. As his weakness, how could you be acting merely on a whim?”

“Oh?” Ruyi chuckled lightly. “How did he get you to talk?”

Speaking of this made Yuncheng angry. As an Imperial Clan Court official, Shen Qiyuan’s entanglement with a merchant’s daughter, while not exactly a moral failing, certainly didn’t sound good when spoken of. So when he discussed Lady Zhang’s case with an attitude of favoritism toward himself, Yuncheng had been completely unguarded.

After all, with leverage in hand, if Shen Qiyuan harmed him, his reputation would also suffer.

So he had honestly told Shen Qiyuan that he didn’t kill Lady Zhang—rather, Lady Zhang had long been stealing secrets from Lin’an’s patrol defense and the Ministry of War, transmitting them to Huizhou in the form of family letters, which he had accidentally discovered. After they argued, Lady Zhang suddenly took her own life.

Shen Qiyuan asked: “Where did you put those letters?”

He answered honestly: “In the hidden compartment of my study.”

Even when he was thrown into death row, Yuncheng still hadn’t figured out how he could be convicted with Shen Qiyuan protecting him. Only when the head jailer told him that it was precisely Shen Qiyuan who had decided the case did he realize this person had planned to move against him from the start. His only value to Shen Qiyuan wasn’t preserving his good reputation, but the family letters from Lady Zhang.

“So this is the pure and noble Master Shen?” He sneered. “Who knows how many other wrongful cases he has on his hands over the years?”

Ruyi clicked her tongue lightly, the candle flame flickering.

“Things in this world aren’t simply black and white. Master Shen has his considerations,” she said. “While this case may not show his fairness, to say he’s completely wrong would be going too far.”

Yuncheng was puzzled: “If you’re supposed to be in love with Shen Qiyuan, you’re going against him. But if you have nothing to do with each other, why are you defending him now?”

“A lifetime of mutual support would be so boring,” she laughed lazily. “Romance needs some sword fights to stay interesting.”

“…” This was a thought normal people couldn’t understand.

The two soon emerged from the tunnel. Ruyi hired a carriage to take him to Chaotian Gate, watching as he passed the guards and successfully struck the Heavenly Hearing Drum.

Dong—dong—dong—

Shen Qiyuan’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

Heaven and earth still felt somewhat dizzy. Supporting himself on the bed edge, he sat up to see Ruyi at the table, chin resting on her hand, smiling at him: “Awake?”

Rubbing his temples, he asked hoarsely: “Why are you up?”

Ruyi didn’t answer, only blinked and asked: “Since meeting me, has Master ever had thoughts of killing me?”

Not knowing why she suddenly asked this, Shen Qiyuan answered honestly: “Yes.”

Gods and demons were two extreme opposites—wanting to kill her was his instinct.

“Then why didn’t you act?” She tilted her head. “Because you love me too much?”

Shen Qiyuan didn’t respond to this question.

He stood up, steadied himself, then stepped toward her, looking down to study her.

She squinted with a delicate smile curving her lips, but there wasn’t much mirth in her eyes.

His gaze shifting, he reached out and picked a grain of yellow earth from her hair. The soil was hard, crumbling to powder with a light rub, mixed with fine straw debris—it belonged to the prison cells.

His fingertips trembled. Shen Qiyuan looked at her, his expression gradually darkening: “You deceived me?”

“How could I?” She was brazen despite being in the wrong. “I never said anything—how can that count as deception?”

“Liu Ruyi.” His spine began trembling uncontrollably. “I told you not to meddle in others’ affairs.”

Blue veins bulged on the back of his hand. His head grew dizzier. Shen Qiyuan gripped the table edge, took a deep breath, then smiled: “Right, how could it be others’ affairs? This concerns your beloved’s cherished wish—you’d risk your life to fulfill it for him.”

Seeing his anger had turned somewhat vicious, Ruyi frowned: “It’s merely a mortal lawsuit at most. If there are any consequences, I’ll bear them.”

Bear them? How would she bear them? By having her soul scattered again?

Tasting something metallic on his tongue, he gritted his teeth: “It’s my greed. I knew long ago it wouldn’t work between us, knew you were no longer the person from back then, knew I’d face heavenly punishment, yet I held onto false hope.”

If Liu Ruyi cared about him even a little bit—just a tiny bit—everything would still be within his control. But she didn’t.

Like herself from thousands of years ago, her heart was like a stubborn stone, impervious to reason.

His chest felt like it was splitting. Shen Qiyuan grabbed his outer robe, threw it on, and strode out of the chamber.

The gentle snow that had been falling outside instantly turned into thumb-sized hail, pelting down onto the lake and ground, clattering chaotically on the roof tiles.

He looked up at the sky once, then flew across the water surface and rode toward Huiming Mountain.

Ruyi couldn’t catch up with him. After thinking for a moment, she first returned to the Immortal Wine Tower.

The cellar where the Immortal Wine Tower stored white immortal fish was large and safe. She tidied it up and placed sufficient cotton bedding and food inside.

“Why do we have to live here?” Tinglan didn’t understand. “It’s perfectly fine outside, just larger hail.”

Ruyi organized while saying, “You should all stay here for the next few days. Don’t go out unless necessary.”

“But…”

“Listen to me.”

Since she said this, Fuman and Tinglan obediently nodded.

Zhao Yanning came in from outside carrying a new cotton quilt, saying puzzledly: “Shopkeeper, when did you become acquainted with Song Zhenshan? In this weather with ice chunks falling, he came to the door on his initiative.”