The answer didn’t need to be asked; she knew it herself. Yet in her heart, there still lingered a shred of vain hope. She wondered if there might be a chance to resolve past grudges, perhaps if she treated him better, he would gradually be moved by her and start to love her. But then thinking about his seemingly flirtatious yet actually chaste temperament, she felt defeated again. She knew that times had changed, and her vain hopes were just that—vain hopes. "Creak..." Someone pushed the door open. Liang Shujun’s mouth was stuffed with a wad of cloth, her clothes hadn’t been changed in days, and she looked unwell, her wrists bound behind her. She appeared somewhat haggard, clearly not having slept for several days, and when she followed the noise and looked, unsurprisingly, it was He Su. "Phoenix Blood..." Seeing him , He Su was deeply pained. She bent down, trying to remove the rag in his mouth, but he, full of wariness, turned his head away coldly like a defensive hedgehog. Her eyes darkened, but she ignored his rejection and forcefully pulled out the rag from his mouth. She wanted to fight for herself one more time. "He Su, I advise you to release me!" he said, seemingly calm, but his expression was also quite cold. He Su took a deep breath; she began to untie Liang Shujun, and while looking down, she said, "You’ve been locked up here and probably don’t know that Hai Lan has found two corpses to impersonate you and the Young Servant of Sky Blue House. In this world, there is no longer Phoenix Blood, no longer Liang Shujun. If you leave this place with me, you can completely change your way of life, and you won’t have to suffer like before." "Ha," he said with scorn in his eyes, "Suffering? Yes, it has been very tough. Even if I don’t care about my own reputation, singing all day at the Sky Blue Building, being ogled by countless women, judged by everyone—it’s been tough, but I’ve grown used to it." He Su’s heart felt bitter. She had untied the ropes and tried to help Liang Shujun get up, but he moved even faster, treating her like a flood or a ferocious beast, like some terrible plague, completely unwilling to have any physical contact with her. "If you really care for me, if you really appreciate me, you shouldn’t have done this! I’ve managed to get through a tough year already. And now you’ve come to disturb my life again. What, do you want to repeat what you did to me all those years ago?" "I..." Tears welled up in her eyes. "It wasn’t on purpose, Phoenix Blood, really, if I had known earlier... I’m sorry, I know it’s all my fault. But it’s been so long, and I have always been truly remorseful," she said in a penitent manner, but Liang Shujun walked straight past her without as much as a glance. "Phoenix Blood, don’t go!" she suddenly rushed at him, trying to embrace him, but Liang Shujun seemed to run out of patience, finally reaching his limit. Suddenly, he turned around, his long fingers gripping her neck, and pinned her against the wall. The man’s eyes were filled with fury and darkness, his expression icy, his body radiating a dangerous aura. He Su felt a tremor of fear. Years ago, when her family of eight was traveling, they encountered a band of horse bandits. Her mother, several fathers, and her sister all died. Only she and her adopted son Luo Yang miraculously survived the ordeal. But she could never forget the slaughter by those horse bandits, their eyes filled with brutal cruelty and murderous intent. And now ’Phoenix Blood’ reminded her of those horse bandits. He wanted to kill her. Did he truly want to kill her?