Unfortunately, Tuesday could no longer say anything more.
The blood foam in his throat grew heavier, his breathing weaker and weaker.
His eyes still stared fixedly at Mu Xi, filled with resentment and unwillingness, as if trying to carve her image deep into his soul, dragging endless hatred down to hell with him.
Then, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed, his burly body collapsed heavily like a deflated ball, completely silent.
Blood continued to gush from his neck, staining the ground red, the air thick with the stench of blood.
The Underground Tunnel fell back into a deathlike silence, with only the sound of dripping water remaining.
She stared at Tuesday’s corpse, her chest rising and falling violently, still unable to calm down.
She truly couldn’t understand why Tuesday wanted to kill her, nor why he had said those inexplicable words.
‘What exactly was Ye Lan planning?’
Countless questions surged up in her mind like a tangled mess, impossible to unravel.
But the one certainty was that Tuesday was dead—the man who had once deceived her, whom she despised, now lay dead under her fork.
Mu Xi took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Now was not the time to dwell on these thoughts.
The most important thing was to leave here. Â
She glanced at the bloodstained ground, her delicate brows furrowing slightly before she finally chose to sit atop Tuesday’s massive, cold corpse.
It wasn’t so much resting as it was numbing herself, alleviating the waves of surging emotions.
The stiffness of the corpse beneath her gave some anchor to her chaotic thoughts.
She needed calm—extreme calm—to face what lay ahead.
Deep breath, then another deep breath.
Her chest’s rising and falling gradually steadied as Mu Xi forced her attention onto the faint surrounding sounds—the dripping water, the flow of blood, and, from the distant depths of the tunnel, faint yet determined footsteps.
A barely noticeable smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
She knew who it was—she had come.
The footsteps grew closer, the glow of an oil lamp gradually appearing in the tunnel.
Finally, Li Xin appeared in Mu Xi’s line of sight, carrying a lantern.
Why was Mu Xi so confident?
Because she had left a trick along the way—throwing the Vibrator that had been tucked beneath her for a long time at the entrance of the path. Â
With Li Xin’s meticulous observation skills, she would definitely realize something was wrong and come after her—and indeed she had.
Seeing Mu Xi sitting there unharmed, Li Xin’s tense face visibly relaxed for a moment, but when her gaze landed on Tuesday’s sprawled corpse, her expression froze instantly, replaced by shock and confusion.
Li Xin hurriedly approached Mu Xi, the oil lamp in her hand illuminating the blood puddle and Tuesday’s grim death pose.
She gasped, her voice trembling as she asked, “Miss Mu Xi, what… what happened here?”
Mu Xi looked at Li Xin calmly, a faint trace of probing in her eyes.
She slowly recounted the events in brief—the betrayal by Tuesday and how she was forced to fight back.
“I killed him.”
Mu Xi said softly, her tone as calm as if speaking of something trivial.
But only she knew the storm hidden behind those words.
Li Xin fell silent for a moment after hearing Mu Xi’s account.
Her sharp gaze locked tightly onto Mu Xi’s face, as if trying to pierce through the calm exterior to the true emotions beneath.
Finally, she shifted her eyes to the fork lying on the ground—the weapon Mu Xi had used and Tuesday’s death warrant.
“Miss Mu Xi, what are you planning to do now?” Li Xin asked again, her voice low and serious, tinged with barely concealed nervousness.
Mu Xi didn’t answer immediately but bent down to pick up the bloodstained Knife lying beside Tuesday’s corpse.
The blade reflected the oil lamp’s light with a cold gleam.
She held out the hilt toward Li Xin, raising her head to look at her seriously, and clearly and slowly said, “I can’t go back now, unless… you take me away.”
She paused, her tone carrying a hint of resolve and an almost imperceptible hope.
“If you’re unwilling… then use this knife and kill me here. If you are willing…”
She locked eyes with Li Xin, speaking each word carefully: “Then use this knife to protect me.”
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the faint crackling of the oil lamp and the silent standoff between the two.
Li Xin stared intently at the Knife in Mu Xi’s hand, then lifted her eyes to the clear yet pleading gaze Mu Xi gave her, her heart gripped by an invisible hand, her breathing growing difficult.
Taking the hilt, Li Xin’s fingertips trembled slightly—the cold metal sensation mirroring the struggle inside her.
She accepted the Knife, but it felt like she was taking on a weight of a thousand pounds, pressing heavily on her heart.
A crossroads stretched clearly before her.
To the left was Ye Lan—the long-standing loyalty, the Manor’s rules, the world she had always survived in.
To the right was Mu Xi—the uncontrollable love, the yearning of her heart, the light she had never touched.
What were the consequences of betraying Ye Lan?
Death.
Without a doubt. Â
She knew Ye Lan’s methods well; the fate of a traitor was destruction.
And what about betraying Mu Xi?
Li Xin looked at Mu Xi’s calm face, imagining what expression the fragile yet tenacious girl would show if she refused, if she truly raised the blade against her.
Despair?
Pain?
Or a deathly calm?
Any of those would drag her into eternal ruin.
Would Mu Xi survive?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
But whether life or death, she would be imprisoned in this Manor, day after day, year after year, like a delicate bird in a cage, losing all her brilliance in the end.
And Li Xin herself would bear the guilt of pushing Mu Xi into the abyss, living a wretched life filled with eternal remorse and self-loathing.
The answer was clear.
Li Xin suddenly smiled—a mixture of relief, resolve, and a tenderness even she had not realized.
She put the Knife back into Mu Xi’s hand, then drew a Gun from her waist, its black muzzle glinting coldly in the dim tunnel light.
“The knife is too slow. I have a Gun. I can protect you faster and better.”
Mu Xi looked at the Gun, then at Li Xin, a trace of a smile appearing in her eyes—a mix of relief, trust, and hope.
Their eyes met, silently confirming their choice.
“Hold me tight.” Li Xin whispered, her tone soft with barely noticeable tenderness.
Without waiting for a response, she bent down and firmly lifted Mu Xi’s petite body.
“Can we really escape through this tunnel?”
Leaning against Li Xin’s chest, feeling her solid arms and warmth, Mu Xi’s restless heart calmed slightly but she still couldn’t help but ask the question on her mind.
“Yes.” Li Xin answered confidently, stepping forward into the depths of the tunnel with Mu Xi in her arms.
“Tuesday wasn’t lying—at least about this.”
The tunnel’s depths were pitch-black, only the oil lamp in Li Xin’s hand lighting the way ahead.
The drip of water echoed in the silence, each step heavy with the unknown.
After a few steps, Mu Xi spoke again, her tone laced with confusion and doubt:
“But the path is so obvious—why would Ye Lan leave it here? Isn’t she afraid we’ll escape?”
Li Xin didn’t stop walking, her voice calm as she explained:
“At the end of this path are three large doors, each requiring a specific key to open. This is Ye Lan’s deliberate setup—she wants you to see hope, only to snuff it out with her own hands, to make you surrender completely in despair.”
Hearing this, Mu Xi’s mouth twitched as she couldn’t help but mutter, “What a sick woman.”