"Don’t worry," Mo Jiu continued lazily, "you don’t need to fret over your Hall Master. Those two aren’t destined to be together. Chong Zhao is deeply burdened by his obsession with vengeance—nothing will ever be more important to him than that. Better for her to crash into a wall of harsh reality; maybe then, any ties between them will shatter."
"You—" Hua Hong began, but Mo Jiu interrupted with a mischievous grin, tugging her along by the hand.
"They won’t end up together, but we could. Come on, come on, let’s head to the main hall. It’d be a shame to miss out on this celestial drama…"
Outside the Phoenix Hall, guards stood ready, but with Qing Yi accompanying her, no one dared block Bai Shuo’s path.
"The Celestial Lord has said that if Chong Zhao is willing to relinquish his grudge, the thirty-six lashes of the punishment whip can be avoided," Qing Yi reminded her. "There’s only one incense stick’s worth of time left before the punishment begins. This is his last chance."
Bai Shuo nodded, then entered the hall.
As she pushed open the doors, Chong Zhao turned around, his face pale and spirit depleted beneath the golden light of the cell.
"A-Zhao…" Seeing her, his eyes narrowed briefly, then he lowered his head expressionlessly.
Bai Shuo rushed forward, reaching out to the cell’s barrier. A flash of golden light rippled, and Chong Zhao’s face changed. "Don’t touch—!"
Yet the light did nothing to her. Both Chong Zhao and Bai Shuo were taken aback.
"This barrier… it doesn’t affect me?"
"A-Shuo… have you reached the rank of Superior Lord?" Chong Zhao’s eyes filled with disbelief. The island’s barrier repels any rank below Superior Lord, so her unharmed state could only mean she’d reached that level. But just days before, she had still been a mere wandering celestial.
"Superior Lord?" Bai Shuo looked down at her hands in bewilderment. Since awakening at the Violet Moon Lake, she’d felt strange, and only now did she realize that not only had her old injuries healed, but her spirit core was overflowing with fresh energy.
It was the Violet Moon’s divine breath! Had that demon lord taken her to the Unbound City, not for revenge, but to heal her…?
Warmth welled up in her heart, but Chong Zhao’s quiet coughing brought her back. She quickly raised her hand toward the cell’s barrier.
"A-Zhao, I’m getting you out of here."
"No need." Before she could release her celestial power, Chong Zhao’s low voice halted her, her hand still mid-air.
Chong Zhao looked at her steadily. "A-Shuo, this isn’t something you can interfere with. Attempting to assassinate the Ziwei Star is a grievous offense, and if I were to escape, the entire Miao Sect would suffer."
"I’m not helping you escape; I’m taking you to beg forgiveness from Celestial Lord Jin Yao. If you’re willing to let go of your grudge, then the thirty-six lashes won’t be necessary—"
"Impossible." Chong Zhao lifted his gaze, dark with resentment. "A-Shuo, don’t forget—I sought the Way solely for revenge. If I let go of my family’s massacre, how could I face the hundred lives of my Chong family, unjustly taken! As long as I live, I will someday kill the Ziwei Star with my own hands!"
"They didn’t die unjustly!" Bai Shuo blurted out, silencing him as he looked at her, shock and fury in his bloodshot eyes.
"What did you say?" he murmured, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her. Despite the burns the cell’s force inflicted upon him, he pressed his hands against the barrier, his bloody fingers gripping tightly.
"A-Shuo, you’re telling me that my family’s hundred lives, lost right before my eyes, weren’t unjust?"
The hall fell silent. After a long pause, Bai Shuo whispered, "A-Zhao, your father did indeed harbor rebellious intentions… the evidence was conclusive."
"That’s a lie! My family served in the court for three generations; my father was loyal and righteous. How could he have plotted rebellion?"
"The investigation into your family’s treason… it was conducted by the General’s Household." Bai Shuo dropped her gaze, her voice soft, but the words echoed heavily in the hall.
Stunned, Chong Zhao stared at her, his voice hoarse and broken.
"What… what did you just say? Whose word condemned my father?"
"The General’s Household," Bai Shuo repeated, meeting his shocked gaze with a gentle but unwavering voice.
In the mortal world, only one person currently held the title of Great General, and that was General Bai Xun.
Within the confines of the cell, they stared at each other, their faces familiar yet foreign after years of companionship.
At last, Bai Shuo had said what she had held back all these years. She had stayed beside the isolated Chong Zhao, guarding and protecting him, but had never spoken these words aloud.
The demon lord had asked her once, how many lives she had to spare, how deep her feelings must be to stay by Chong Zhao’s side.
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